fruits of our past
by kris hawkeye
Summary: what if shikamaru was arranged to be married to ino and had left temari pregnant unbeknownst to him? shikatema fic.
1. Chapter 1

setting is 2 years after the 2 1/2 years timeskip (shippuuden). So temari might be 20 and shika 18, I think. I dont own Naruto

* * *

It was late midnight making the moon and the stars the only light in the entire town. They were lying down on the inn's bed after having an hour-long love-making. She's below he's on top. Face between the valleys of her full breasts, as his arms was held in a tight clasp along her curvy features…thinking critically contemplating on something. "Shikamaru" she said half asleep. His head shot up, startled by the abrupt breaking of silence. '_Troublesome woman I thought she was drifting away'_. He thought "I thought you were asleep?" he replied calmly. "I was worried... you're not sleeping. What's the matter?" concern was know visible throughout her face. "nothing much" was his short reply "Now go to sleep troublesome woman I'll catch up shortly" "yeah fine lazy-ass" was her sleepy joke as she chuckled lightly and quickly turned her back against him pulling the covers up to her cold body. 

'_How am I suppose to tell her? How would she react? Could she be angry? Now think shikamaru… think… I am supposed to be a genius and I can't think properly. Am I really a genius? This is way too troublesome'_ He thought as he shortly fell asleep

**FLASHBACK**

"_Shikamaru" called Shikaku Nara, the head of the nara clan and mostly, his father_

"_what?" came his lazy response_

"_do you remember your engagement?"_

"_engagement? To whom?" He replied as shock covered his lazy features_

"_Yamanaka Ino"_

" _WHAT THE HELL? but she's my teammate I cant be engaged with her! I don't even love her!_"_ He exclaimed as anger raged through his body_

"_well you can't do anything… its decided"_

"_how could you decide against my will?!"_

" _I'm not the one who settle that, it's the elders. They thought it's time for the heir to get married… and the best for that position is Yamanaka Ino. Their bloodline limit fits exactly to our Kage mane no jutsu so it would definitely be a good combination for our future clan." He stated proudly "and also Yamanaka Ino is my bestfriend's daughter so I don't have a problem with that." He added as he drank his now cold coffee_

**END FLASHBACK**

It's now 9:00 in the morning and the laziest shinobi in Konoha was still fast asleep..

"Oi lazy! get your lazy butt up!" Temari shouted as she stumbled for her missing ponytail

"geez... troublesome woman" was all he said as he got up getting dressed." Oi fan-girl what are you looking for?" he asked quite curious

"I'm finding my ponytails" she stated calmly but irritably "Now help me pineapple-head!" she glared at him as she saw he was doing nothing other than watch her as she was striving hard to find it.

"Nah...too troublesome... you should find it yourself"

"you lazy-asshole!" WHACK! it was the sound heard made by her metal gigantic fan when he ignored her command of helping her find it

"what was that for?!" he defended himself as he was lazily checking his head for any injuries

She ignored him when she finally found the thing she was looking for, smiling lovingly at him. "You troublesome-woman... using violence for finding things" he said chuckling

"Wanna go for a stroll?" she asked

"sure"

* * *

"Shikamaru...?" She asked softly as they were walking along the streets of konoha "What were you thinking last night?" she continued He was slightly shocked as he stumbled for the right answer, not really an answer but actually an excuse."I was just thinking of the deers, really" he laughed nervously as he thought of an idiotic excuse. "I just thought you we're a genius, but i guess not in lying" she pouted sadly "You know, you could tell me what's bugging you...I might as well help" she said sadly that her emerald eyes was now covered by her blonde bangs. " oi Temari, I...I didn't mean it...I just... well" he stopped in his tracks making temari also seize walking. "I can't really hide it no matter how troublesome it is..." he said looking at her straight in the eyes. _"Shika-kun"_ she thought worriedly.

* * *

They are now at Shikamaru's favorite place, the best place for cloud-watching, the abandoned building that seems to be his second home. Her legs were crossed as she was leaning down in one arm and the other resting on her lap." What do you want to talk about?" she said breaking the silence as she looked at him. "Promise me first," he replied shortly as he settled his arms behind his head, "that you wont get mad at me...". " it depends...". 

"To start with this troublesome explanation," he said sitting up and looking more serious "let me tell you this...well a week ago, my father told me some-"

"come on shikamaru get straight to the point" she cut him off

"fine. I'm engaged if that's what you want" he answered almost sadly, worriedly and bored. all 3 emotions were carved perfectly in his face.

" D-did i h-hear it correctly?" shock and fear were clearly visible in the face of the intrepid sand kunoichi

"Yeah, you heard it right... I'm engaged, to repeat it and with Ino to be specific" he clearly repeated as if nothing's wrong. Well that's Shikamaru if you must know, always lazy, even to show his emotions.

"You...you're kidding right?" she said trying to surpress a laugh. and with that she stood up, hands enclosed into a tight fist

"I'm sorry" he calmly apogolized... " but i couldn't do anything..."

"Shikamaru..." she said turning to face him. Now she's a bit calm and almost smiling. "could we be married?" she asked with a genuine smile.

* * *

watch out for the next chapter and it's entitled 'secret marriage' please review. it would be greatly appreciated 


	2. secret marriage

Nara Shikamaru, if there's a one word to describe him, it would be 'lazy'. But a certain fan-wielding kunoichi had changed him. For the better or for the worst? He is not the emo-type like Sasuke, the one who betrayed their village and he is the the super-hyper-ctive kid who is known as naruto. Likewise he's lazy. So what he's doing right now is not Shikamaru-like. Yes, he really did change her.

---------

Constant yelling of certain blonde kunoichi was heard as the laziest ninja in Konoha was dragging her off to some place. "Shikamaru?! Where the hell are we going?!" And now the village people are looking straight at them. Some of them gossiping " shut up for a while woman" he said in a quite annoyed tone. " You make sure this dragging-me-along-to-some-place-I-don't-know thing would be worth it! You pineapple-head." she snickered "tch… troublesome woman" he said as he cast a quick glance at her through the corners of his eyes. He smiled inwardly. _" Just a moment ago she is yelling furiously at me and now she is snickering? Woman…mood swings…must be the time of the month…"_ he thought as they continued to walk.

Finally they've reached their destination. Well, it was just the old abandoned building. His favorite spot for cloud watching. "and what do we do now?" she said in a mocking tone. She quickly sat down, legs crossed and waiting for his next move. The next thing he did was throw a small black box to her. She quickly caught it and scanned thoroughly. "What's this?" she questioned puzzled. "The only thing to find out is to open it…tch, troublesome as always"

In the small black box were two gold rings with a little cloud carved in the front. She scanned the rings and found out that it has names carved inside. The smaller ring has a name carved _'shikamaru'_ and the larger _'temari'. _"happy now?" she quickly stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck resting her head into his shoulders.

" you planned this didn't you?"

"kinda" he answered face flushed "so, are ya ready?" he added

"let's get started" she said excitingly

They walked off into the corner where the clouds where most likely visible. Now they're face to face almost two feet apart.

"Temari" he asked nervously "do you accept me as your lazy husband"

"Yeah I do" she replied smilingly as he placed the smaller ring in her finger. And now it's his turn to smile.

"Shikamaru, do you take me as your troublesome wife?"

"I do" she was about to put it but quickly paused. " Are you sure you want to wear it boldly? You know, what if ino finds out?"

"come to think of it… it makes sense. But what should we do?"

"here" She quickly unhooked the necklace she was currently wearing and showed it to him " It was a memento given by my mother before she died" she added as she placed the ring on the necklace and put it on her beloved's neck.

"are you sure this is alright? It was your mother's?" he asked as he touched the necklace and look carefully at it. It has a little pendant with the sand village's crest carved through it.

"yes it's fine" she assured

"So… may I kiss my bride?"

Without further hesitation she quickly captured his lips with her soft ones. He quickly responded into the kiss and licked her lower lip asking for entrance. She opened her lip as his tongue memorized every inch of her mouth. She was the one to pull away gasping for breath. His face flushed he looked at her now swollen lips due to his sucking earlier. An awkward silence enveloped the two as Temari was the one who broke it.

"by the way when is your wedding?" she asked a little bit sad out of nowhere.

"The elders are arranging it right now and they informed me just this morning that it would be six months from now." He answered somewhat dejectedly.

"Oh I see" she looked away. "And when are you leaving?" now is his turn to ask.

"Tomorrow at noon" she turned to him with a smirk " Oi lazy what do you wanna do now?"

"I dunno… you decide"

"I've got the perfect idea" she once again showed a devilish smirk

* * *

What they did is kinda censored. And I don't want to be wiritng lemons, and if I did it would suck. I'm not good at it actually. So the next chapters would be slightly serious. Thank you for the reviewers! 

PLEASE REVIEW it would be greatly appreciated

If you don't want then it's fine with me... again thank you!


	3. pregnant?

"Leaving, hn? " As usual, he's bored and he never got a nice sleep ever since yesterday, just three hours to be exact. He's tired from last night. As we all know they had sex. He cannot count the number of times they did it, but at least he liked it, he's addicted actually. For the first time ever in his life, he got addicted to a game other than Shougi, and this game was called sex.

"What do you think?" sarcastic as always.

"Come back" and again for the first time he tried to plead. He's serious.

"Of course I will… I'm a liaison from Suna if you must know"

"Tch… you're so troublesome. And if you must also know, this is our last attachment"

"…and so what?"

"Would you stop being sarcastic for a sec?! I'm serious" And again and again, for the first time ever he shouted. She was stunned at first but then grinned.

"Oh… fine fine fine…" she paused "so what now?"

" it's good bye then" he waved as if she was nothing

"just goodbye? No kiss?" now it's her time to beg

" all right but just a peck " he leaned down to kiss her softly and as he said it was just a peck.

Now she was going away, away from him. That farewell was not so sweet. He didn't imagined it like that. Not at least. He thought there was crying and crying and all that stuff. but what do you expect from someone as lazy as Shikamaru?. It would be possible if it was any other couples out there. Like Naruto and Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura, Ino and…. Well he didn't want to think about her. It made him sick. It's not that she's something smelly but, marrying someone who you are not in love with made you sick, right?

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The weather's fine, in fact it was a cloudy day. A perfect day for him to waste his time in HIS clouds, but not now he's too tired. It seems normal, Children are playing around, chasing each other like there's no tomorrow. He remembered the past. It was the good old days with His best friends; Kiba, Naruto and Chouji. He missed being a kid. Being a kid means to live a carefree life. How he wished that he'll just turned into a kid right now.

Exhaustion hits him like someone's poking him in the chest. It's still early, and it's just 9:00 in the morning. So he decided to just go home and relax and think. But how the hell could he even think if there's some virus on his brain called 'INO' that blocks every passageway of it?! He's really tired, dead tired. The more he walks, the more it deteriorates. He wants to sleep and just wait till life abandons him. What's the point of living if there's no reason? Yet it feels that there's someone pulling him into reality.

He is still walking down the street and at this moment he was not just tired, dizziness adds itself on the list. His face is still gloomy, as always, so no one had ever noticed. However, it seems that His laziness has totally taken over his body. At least that's not the reason. So now his condition is close to fainting. The last thing he saw was a bulge of pink hair who was calling for him. " Shikamaru?! Wake up" And thanks for his genius mind he probably recognized who that person was until he totally blacked out. And to be specific, in the middle of the street." I never thought Sakura has a twin sister…" that was the last thing he thought and like I said he cannot think properly and mostly he is dizzy.

How idiotic for a genius!

* * *

She was leaping from branches to branches when she noticed that she was growing tired. _" two days to go". She thought. _She was about to go down when she noticed a small dango shop not very far from where she was standing. " A nice place to rest, hmm and eat". She quickly walked in and greeted the old woman with a smile. _"must be the owner"_ . She ordered a cup of tea and a plate of dango. Usually she was contented with just one but not today. She ordered 3 more plates until she was contented. It was a strange thing. After eating the 4 plates of dango she asked the old woman if she could rest for a while. The old woman nodded. Minutes later she paid for her meal and the old woman waved at her.

"be careful, you two"

"_what the hell?"_

* * *

Shikamaru slowly opened his eyes only to see white. _"Where am I?" _he thought and tried to move his body but failed. He rolled his eyes scanning his surroundings. _"Theres a curtain on my right… and a pink lump on my left and a bit of red" _He once again closed his eyes to study everything that registered on his eyes. Still nothing. He reopened his eyes and glance at his left. at last his senses were half-clear._ " Oh it's just Sakura"_ He closed his eyes and smiled. Shock coated his face as the gears on his brain finally worked and his brows knitted in concentration. _"So come to think of the earlier happenings… I fainted, the rooms all white, there's a curtain on my right, Sakura on the other. That only means one thing!"_

"Why the heck am I here?" Shikamaru yelled as he realized that he definitely was in a hospital room. He tried to move his arms but was stopped by a painful felling on his wrist. "aaaghhh…" he hiss in pain

"Shikamaru? Oh you're awake" Sakura turned to face him and put her Chakra-surrounded palm on his forehead. "You passed out on the street a while ago"

"yeah I know" he snapped " What is this thing?" he pointed towards his wrist

"It's dextrose" she answered "You had a very high fever the last time I checked on you and it seems that it's not getting down. So Tsunade-sama ordered me to-"

"Yeah yeah I understand no need to explain." He waved his LEFT hand to assure her "could you help me sit up?"

"sure"

SILENCE

SILENCE

SILENCE

…………

"What happened to you?" Sakura asked looking down and breaking the silence. As usual she was sad, Shikamaru was her friend and she didn't want any of her friends to get hurt. She was close to breaking down

He saw the fret on her face and he frowned "Relax, it's nothing. It's just stress" He smiled and assured her

"are you sure?"

"yeah"

SILENCE

SILENCE

SILENCE

…………

It was now his turn to break the silence. "Sakura?" She turned to face him

"Yes?" she asked

"Would you marry Naruto?" he asked out of the blue "what if your parents told you?"

She was shocked. " Wha-what?! are they nuts?! What the hell are you talking about?" Anger was clearly visible in her raging eyes. Her fist clenched ready to knock anyone near her. He was frightened by her sudden reaction. He didn't expect this to happen. He miscalculated some equations about her.

"Hey! calm down woman. I didn't mean it. I was just asking. NO need to explode" He has a sweat drop on his forehead

"I'm sorry…" she apologized "to answer your question. I Won't"

" Why not? I mean, his not that bad-looking? He's strong, hardworking, funny and most of all he's kind. He absolutely won't hurt you, so why not?"

"Yeah I know that…He is not a bad looking person both inside and out. He's my teammate and my friend. He's kind, hardworking and all that. It's just that, well there's something that's just not right… We're close….and I can't explain what it is…" She shook her head

"You don't love him" He said more of a statement rather than a question.

Her eyes widened in amazement _"God since when did this lazy-butt thought of love?" _she grinned_ " He must be really in love with Ino.." _she giggled

"_What is this woman grinning and giggling about…" _He raised his eyebrow_ " tsk… troublesome_

"Yes I don't love him, he's just a brother for me"

"Same goes here" He said plainly turning his gaze at the puffy white clouds beneath the window.

"…?" She was puzzled. Now her eyes was once again widened out of confusion

"Ino" he continued " I don't love her"

"What?" still puzzled. "But I thought you love her? You're engaged so why not love her? And just moments ago you're talking about love" She was worried. And good, she wasn't angry. "Isn't it all about Ino?"

"I never said I love her" he closed his eyes "Yes it's all about the two of us" he reopened his gloomy eyes. "Like what you said about Naruto, it's the same for Ino. She's not that bad-looking, she's pretty actually. We're close like a normal sibling. She's also my teammate, my friend and all that. She just lack something"

"She lacks what?" she asked intrigued by all of this little commotion.

"My love that was supposed to be for her. It was already captured by someone. And I'm not regretting it giving to her"

"I understand" she smiled faintly.

"It's giving me a headache" he hissed holding his head with his two hands ignoring the pain of the other with the dextrose. "She's the reason of this whole thing. The arranged marriage, and all those" he closed his eyes " it's making my head fall to pieces"

"_arranged? That Ino! She never told me that. She just told me he propose!" _Inner Sakura shouted. " Shikamaru…" she called him and giving him a warm embrace. " It's alright. You'll get through with this. I'll help you and that's a promise"

He was surprised by her sudden mood swings. _"women, last time she was angry at me and now she's hugging me? It would be troublesome if Temari sees us together" _he chuckled as he returned the embrace. He remembered Temari and her warm body "Temari" he mumbled softly.

" _temari?" _she thought inwardly after hearing Temari's name out of his lips_ " So all this time this two were hiding their relationship?" _She grinned and chuckled

"Thank you Sakura…"

* * *

**TWO DAYS LATER**

"I'm home!" temari greeted more of shouted at the only living thing present at the Kazekage mansion.

"Oi Temari! You're back" Kankuro greeted as her sister came back three months later from Konoha. He looked at her sister and quickly notice some changes at her sister's features. _"She looked different. Her hair is so dull, she's pale and she looks heavier than me now! Eeewww, is she really a woman?"_ Kankuro thought. "Oi temari? Is there a mirror in Konoha and did you gained some weight? You look like a pig" he asked half-worried

"Shut up doll-boy…" She said as she plopped down on the couch taking her sandals off with her own feet. She lie down on the couch and covered her eyes with her arms.

"_She's tired. I wonder what happened in Konoha. She's not like that. Better not piss her off and just stay quiet"_ Kankuro thought inwardly

As Kankuro's words registered on her mind, she cannot help but take note of the word PIG. _"pig… did I really gained some weight? He said I look like one… wait… Pig… means boar and… Ino" _frown covered her face as thoughts of Ino and Shikamaru being together invaded her tired brain. _"That pig! stealing Shikamaru away from me!" _

"AAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!" She stood up and burst out of rage. She's breathing heavily and glaring at everything her eyes could perceive. And if looks could kill, Kankuro would be ashes by now.

"Hey?" Kankuro jumped at the back of the couch, Petrified by temari's sudden explosion. "I-I- didn't d-do any-anything" He clapped his hands to connect it "please have mercy on your little brother" He was close to crying and was using his puffy dog eyes and was kneeling.

She walk down slowly with a very heavy foot towards Kankuro. Her eyes were glowing with anger like it has some laser attached. She took out her fan ready to swing until a burning scent yet delicious smell entered her nose. She sniffed through it.

"Please, I beg of you, I'm too young to die" Kankuro closed his eyes. He slowly open his left eye only to see that Temari was back to normal. " wooohhh" he wiped out that sweat that formed on his forehead. " I thought it was my time"

"Kankuro? What's that smell?" Temari asked normally

Kankuro jolted "its gaara… gaara's cooking" he paused "How should I say this? Since you left, there hasn't been a cook in this house. I tried to cook once but we both got confined to the hospital for three days. And guess what, the reason is 'food-poisoning'. So he decided to cook. It's not that bad. At least it's edible" Kankuro explained further

"Oh I see"

* * *

"_The hospital is much worse than my home"_ he thought as he was released from the hospital. Shikamaru stayed at the hospital for three days without even going out. He had visitors like Kiba, Naruto and Chouji. Ino also visited but he just act like he was asleep that whole time she was there. She got bored and just went home. Luckily his bed was beside the window, that's why he could have the full view of the clouds. That's why he's not really bored.

* * *

" OI gaara?" Kankuro asked whispering on his younger brother. Enough for temari not to hear.

"hn?"

"Did you notice something? Temari? She's eating more like she usually does. It's not like her. And she's easily irritated. And most of all she looks like a pig"

"Just let it be, she's enjoying my cooking"

"If you say so"

CHEW

GULP

EAT

CHEW

GULP

DRINK

Kankuro and Gaara finished their meal while they notice that their big sister isn't finished yet eating like a PIG.

"Geez, Temari… Aren't you through at all? You have finished 5 bowls of rice already. Isn't that enough?" Kankuro questioned but instead of an answer he received a death glare. "hehehe…just eat more… there are more rice on the kitchen" he laugh sacredly.

She was about to swallow the rice when something hit her throat. It seems that it's pulling everything she ate out of her stomach. She placed her hand on her mouth and the other on her stomach.

" Temari?"

"I think…. I'm gonna throw up" she quickly ran as fast as she could just to reach the bathroom, until she was out of sight from two of the sand siblings.

" Kankuro?" Gaara asked

" yes Gaara?"

"Is my cooking that bad?"

* * *

Temari was now at her room relaxing after her sudden vomiting. There were two nurses in the room along with Gaara and Kankuro on the nearby couch. Temari and Kankuro were impatiently waiting for the result and as for Gaara, expressionless.

"Temari-san" the nurse grinned "Congratulations!"

"Huh?" Kankuro and temari said in unison

"you're three months pregnant!" The nurse announced

"WHAT?!"

* * *

To the readers, I'm sorry for the late updates…. I had a chicken pox and my mom forbids me on using the computer. So I promise to Update sooner

PLEASE DONATE SOME REVIEWS…

THANK YOU FOR READING


	4. chapter 4

Chapter four of my story! I really want to change the title, but it's really better if not. Some people might be confused, so I decided not to.

Could you give me an advice about Gaara? who would be better to be paired with him? Is Hinata alright? Or some oc? But I'm not really a fan of oc's you know, I hate them actually. I beg you, please gimme some advice. Pretty please?

Warning: I think I made Gaara a little bit ooc in here, but I think it's not that bad.

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He was at last returning in his not-so-sweet home. He was still dizzy from what had happened three days earlier but at least his fever had gone now. His right hand was carrying a pouch full of pain relievers and an ointment for his light scratches. "Finally" he said, his home's now visible through his eyes. He noticed that it was dark inside and one of the windows are open- _"they're maybe on a mission"_ he thought uninterested. _"Wait a sec… Dark on the inside and an open window?.. an intruder" _he suspected. He ran as fast as he could to reach his home. He was thankful his dizziness has faded somewhat. He opened the door scanning his surroundings. Nothing has changed. But there is just one sign that someone has trespassed in his house. A nin-sandals left on the rug. He reach for his kunai but found none. _"crap. I must have forgotten it in the hospital. Shit gotta think of a plan"_ resting his left knee down, he formed a semi-sphere shape with his fingers joined together. His thinking position. But before he could get started, a pair of arms crawled on the back of his neck. "_time to die"_

"shi-ka-ma-ru" the woman said in an alluring tone and emphasized every syllables of his name. her lips inches away from the sides of his eyes.

"what the fuck? Ino?!" he bawled at her, pushing her arms away from him. He stood up straightening his chuunin vest. Cheeks flushed from what she did earlier. Anger and annoyance raged through his blood as it makes his face redder. "who let you in here?" he asked eyeing her irritatedly. He flicked the lights open.

"uh… well"- she fumbled for the right words. She is not a genius that's why she couldn't think of an rational excuse. She said the truth. " I let myself in here, and used the window as the entrance." She was embarrassed for trespassing and acting like a burglar.

"for what purpose?" still cold

"I just want to see you, that's all"- she paused noticing his cold attitude- "and why are you so cold?" she pouted

" being cold is none of your business. And if the reason you're here is just to see me, then your wish is granted" he noticed her stood up still pouting. "so you are now welcome to leave my place, " he pushed her to the door "there is no more reason for you to be here, excuse me." He attempted to close the door but was stopped by her foot.

"Is that a proper way to treat your girlfriend" she crossed his arms with one eyebrow twitched. "you're harsh" she pointed

"for your information, you are not my girlfriend and you'll never will" he snapped "now get off my sight" He was about to close the door when a thought crossed his mind. "one more thing"

"now what?!" she was clearly irritated by his attitude.

"if you happen to think that you're cute when you pout, then I'm telling you honestly that it's definitely not" He slammed the door with a loud thump, leaving a red nose for ino, after it hit the door. She held her nose dumbfounded.

"_just what is his problem?"_ she thought teary eyed, but not enough to cascade her cheeks.

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Shikamaru slightly slump his back at the door. He closed his eyes breathing heavily. "_I can't believe those words left my lips, I mean… it's not really her fault... Anyway that troublesome woman deserves it. I told her not accept that marriage! But she still did" _he paused_. "I think I regret it, she still is one of my bestfriends, but it would be troublesome to apologize. I'll just let it be like that for a while_"

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"What is the meaning of this?" Gaara questioned his sister. Even after the Shukaku was withdrawn from his body, he still sent shivers through her spine.

"…." No answer. She didn't exactly know what to say. Should she tell him that that lazy-ass was the father? No… that is not a choice. It could be the cause of a broken treaty against Konoha, knowing that Shikamaru is soon to be wed by his teammate.

"Answer me or I'll kill that thing" He crossed his arms against his chest and leaned against the wall facing Temari's bed. He was fuming on his insides but decided not to show it. Luckily, the demon was extracted from his body now, or else it would cause such a great disaster. Who could've done this to his sister? Kankuro was right, he shouldn't have let her be the ambassador to Konoha, or else something awful will happen, knowing Temari's attitude towards men, especially that Nara kid. Nara? He remembered something about what Kankuro had said.

"_Oi Gaara? Are you really sure you'll let her? You could've sent someone from your council ?"_

"_It's alright. As long as she isn't doing something to ruin the alliance, then it's fine. And she would also have a guide. His name is Nara Shikamaru"_

"_If you say so… But I really smell something fishy about this. And I sense that it wouldn't be a nice catch. That bitch of our sister has an affair with that shadow-ass. And as you said earlier he would be her guide" Kankuro said in an as-a-matter-of-factly voice as he rested his butt on Gaara's desk._

"_Get off my desk"_

"_Fine fine fine, if something happens, don't ask for my help" He rolled his eyes and walked away from the Kazekage's office"_

He remembered. Based from what Kankuro told him, she was having an affair with that leaf-nin.

"Nara Shikamaru…" He said quietly. Enough for Temari to hear what he stated

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"Ouch!" Shikamaru yelled in pain as he accidentally bit his tongue. _"someone must be thinking of me…"_ he thought groggily "gotta find out"

He walk downstairs only to find that his mother has comeback. " Hey mom! I thought you were on a mission?"

Yoshino Nara, Shikamaru's mother looked at him "Yeah, I just got back"

"where's dad?"

"He's still reporting in the Hokage's office"

"I see" he said in a low voice "anyway mom, could you gimme some number?"

"Number? Try 7" Her mother suggested peeling some apples

"Ok thanks" he run back upstairs and close the door behind his room. _"Okay… number 7… 7__th__ letter… A B C D E F… G?"_ he thought quizzically

"So G it is. Who could have a name that starts with G? lets see…Gai-sensei, he's always thinking about Lee and his fountain of youth, so x. Another is Genma…x, he hardly knows me. Who else?…think….Gaara…Gaara?!" his mind shouted "its definitely impossible."

00000000000000000

"shi-Shikamaru?" temari gasp in surprise. _"How did he found out about him? I've never told anyone about it? Oh god Gaara would kill him" _she shuffle for the right words to say. "what are you talking about?" she continued .

"don't play with me" Gaara glared at her "he's the father right? Now answer my question"

she let out a heave of sigh, knowing that she couldn't get away with this. "yes he is. No doubt"

00000000000000000

He was sitting at the couch sluggishly. " six months to go" he said as he shifted his gaze at the calendar. Six months to go and he would be officially married to that bitch. "I've got to think of a plan to counter it" he joined his fingertips into his thinking position, and he closed his eyes making his eyebrows form a slight v_. "come on genius, think of a plan!"_ he thought to himself.

"Shikamaru yo!" His father greeted him by greeting him loudly interrupting his thoughts.

"Troublesome old man… I was just reaching for the gold" he hissed scratching the back of his head.

"Don't even think about it" he turned to his father with confusion. "You can't do anything to prevent it, no matter how genius you are. You would just get your ass into trouble" with that his father left him leaving him at a complete loss.

"whatever…"

00000000000000000

"So how do you plan on carrying out that child?" Gaara stood straight and headed towards the edge of her sister's bed. He sat down facing the window.

"It is not very suitable for a growing child to lack a father" He look at the floor and closed his eyes.

"I will raise him. WE will raise him. The three of us" she smiled laying a hand on her stomach. She looked again at him confused. His invisible eyebrows were uniting. He looked so troubled. She laughed

"what's so funny?" He glared

"Would come here for a sec?" She patted her bed signaling him to sit beside her.

"Why would I?"

"Because I AM your older sister, and younger brothers should comply with the orders."

He didn't say anything but just gave in. He stood and walked heading on the side of Temari.

"A little closer" Before he realized anything, he was pulled into a very warm hug.

" what're you doing?" he didn't move, just stayed in her arms. He hates to admit it but he really like the hug. She was like their deceased mother.

"I'm hugging my baby brother"

"baby?" he was disgusted by that term. He wasn't a baby anymore, for goodness sake.

"Hey! Why don't you get yourself a wife?" she broke the hug and look at him with encouragement. "You're old enough"

"a wife?"

00000000000000000

To all the readers who are wondering what Shikamaru did about the number and letter thing, let me explain.

In my country, whenever you accidentally bit your tongue, elders say that someone is thinking of you whether it's a boy or a girl. And when you wanna know who is it, you got to ask the nearest person in you a number not exceeding 26 (alphabet). And for example, that person suggested 26, you have to think of the 26th letter of the alphabet, so it should be Z. Then think of a person whose name starts with Z. It could be Zabuza. Hahaha

For those who are interested with that tradition, you could freely ask me about this and I would gladly reply.

PLEASE leave a REVIEW


	5. a baby was born

"JUST WHAT IS HIS PROBLEM?!" a woman with a long blonde hair yelled at the friend beside her. She was fuming about the incident that happened yesterday. "How dare he do that to me?"

"Relax Ino" sakura comforted her, stroking her back.. Ino looked at her with reddish eyes. "You know, he must have a reason for it."

"Reason?" She shoved the tears out of her eyes with her two hands.

"Yes, reason," sakura hold her hand "he must be troubled by something" she paused. She doesn't know how to say this, she knows something. But she knew Shikamaru would be in trouble of she told this to Ino. "Do you love him? I thought you like Sai?"

"I don't know… well Sai, about him, I just don't feel anything about him. I admit he's cute but… I don't really know"

"Chouji? How about him? He's not anymore the 'chubby' we grew up with. Tsunade-sama said that he couldn't get his original weight any longer, since he ate the red pill again"

"Chouji…" she said to herself.

00000000000000

Shikamaru was sitting at the bench of his favorite cloud watching spot. He's not really watching the clouds but rather muse about their marriage. 'Temari'. This is the place they were married. Not officially though, but for them it is. He was really in a deep trance that he didn't notice the presence of his teammate specifically best friend.

"Shikamaru" Chouji greeted munching his diet-potato chips.

He broke out of his dream and look at his side. "chouji?" he scratched his head. "sorry I didn't notice you." He smiled as he saw what he was eating. "hey! That's diet-potato chips! I see, so you shifted into that brand."

Munch. "hm. It isn't that bad, and it also helps in my diet."

"I see."

"You're gonna be married in a few months…"

"I don't wanna talk about it…"

"why not, don't you love our teammate?"

"…"

"you're so lucky Shikamaru. You just don't know how bad I wanted to change seats with you." Chouji left him astounded.

000000000000000

Six months has passed by so quickly. Temari didn't even notice that her stomach had grown a huge bulge.

She was so blessed that she didn't have problems pertaining her pregnancy. She usually walks out of her room and have a leisurely walk around the village, despite the fact that she often receives a disgusted look from the villagers, _"I can't believe that the kazekage's sister is pregnant without a father, she is such a disgrace in the family"_ She didn't care about it. They do not know a single thing about it. They're just wimps making a conclusion of their own.

He can't believe it was his big day today. Not really big, for him. He was to be wed today. He wasn't sure if he could do this. Chouji didn't talk to him ever since that day in the cloud-watching spot. He opened his window and he could clearly see Naruto and Kiba running around. They seemed to be excited, as if they we're the one to be wed. He wasn't prepared for this.

000

"Kankurou!, Gaara!" Temari yelled in pain as she felt something move around her stomach ready to come out in any minute. "Kanku-AH! Help me! Gaara!" she hugged her stomach gasping in pain. Her breathing was heavy.

Kankurou was the first one to burst in the door. He saw his sister in the floor panting. "Temari!" He hurried to his side and quickly carried her. "god temari, you're heavy"

" shut up… just bring me to the hospital" she manage to say between breaths

000

"Nara Shikamaru, do you take this woman before you as your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest asked.

He didn't answer. His gaze was just fixed on the ground. The priest waited for seconds but he didn't get an answer. Ino looked at him and elbowed him. He woke up.

"I repeat, Do you, Nara Shikamaru, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I- I do"

And now I announce you as man and wife…

You may kiss the bride

Ino leaned and closed her eyes. They were about to kiss when…

000

Temari is lying on the stretcher gripping kankuro's hand into a pulp. She was yelling in pain having no idea on how to handle this. The nurses rushed her into the operating room. Leaving Kankuro outside the room. Saying that he was not yet allowed to enter._"shit.."_ he cursed under his breath _"where the hell is that psychopath brother of mine?"_

"GYAHHHHHH-" Kankuro jolted hearing his sister's voice screaming. And at the same time a pile of sand touch his shoulders.

"Kankuro…"

"Gaara" his wish was granted. Gaara arrived

A nurse went out of the room and asked them if they want to go inside and help her. "she needs your support". They nodded. Kankuro hurried to her side and quickly grabbed her cold hands. 3 seconds. Another hand held her cold ones.

"temari… are you alright?!" Kankuro asked almost yelled

"Hey mister stop talking!" the medic-nin scolded Kankuro. She turned to temari "temari-san, when I said push, you push" she paused "Now push"

"ahhhhhh-" temari screamed in pain.

"now relax temari-san" the medic-nin gently stroke temari's stomach and "push!"

"SHIKAMARU!"

000

_And now I announce you as man and wife…_

_You may kiss the bride_

_Ino leaned and closed her eyes. They were about to kiss when…_

He looked away. He sensed it, someone called him. He returned his look to Ino when he saw what he didn't expect to see. Tears. She was humiliated, in front of her friends, her family, the hokage, and to Chouji. Shikamaru, on the other hand, was surprised. He received odd looks from the crowd. _"what is that guy thinking? looking away when he was about to kiss his bride? That's a shame" _He heard someone whispered. He didn't mean it. It was an accident. To make up for it, he reluctantly did what he was supposed to do.

Their lips met.

000

A bouncy baby boy was delivered. The medic-nin handed the new born to his mother. "here. It's a boy"

Kankuro was astonished. He was sweating heavily. " i-it's my… nephew" he smiled and touched the baby's head. "it's soft"

"Black hair, black eyes…" Gaara closed his eyes "no doubt. It's a Nara"

000

The wedding has finally ended. He yawned raising his arms. He quickly approached the bed and covered his body with a thick blanket. Good thing, Ino is in the bathroom, she wouldn't have the chance to disturb him in his peaceful slumber. That was his talent; to be able to sleep in less than a minute. Until a pair of wet and cold arms bind his waist. He shivered.

"INO!"

"what?" she grinned "do you intend to sleep without making amends with me?"

"what for?" Shikamaru turned his back attempting to sleep. Again.

"oh? don't act innocent… you know what I mean" she punched him slightly

"well sorry for that" He didn't even move a single finger. Just his lips. "listen, I'm not in the mood for your games, we can do it in another day. I'm tired. Let me sleep"

"so cold" she murmured. "Fine! If that's what you want" instead, she wrapped her arms around his back touching his abs. going higher until her fingers reached his neck.. She felt something. A necklace.

"_necklace? Who would have thought that this lazy-bum is a fan of jewelries?" _she ignored it, yet there's just something that forces her to study the necklace. She was intrigued. Good for her, he was fast asleep. She turned his body so that they would be facing each other.

Ino fingered the necklace examining it. Silver. She took it off of his neck and found a pendant and a ring. It was dark, she couldn't see it clearly. She opened the windows and light cascaded on her face. She look again. The pendant seems old and there is a character. Sand. _Sand? Why would he have a pendant of the sand? He isn't living there? He's a leaf ninja, for god's sake. _She turned her gaze at the other ornament. It's a gold ring. There's a name carved on it's inside…_Temari…_

A stream flowed down from her eyes. Eyes wide. Just what is the meaning of this? She was angry, sad, irritated. She was after all Yamanaka Ino, possibly the most beautiful kunoichi in the Leaf. Many ninjas were running after her, chasing her like a mad man. And this man that is currently lying beside her, cheated? She didn't deserve this.

No, not cheated… it wasn't the right word. There's just no word to describe what he did to her.

She was humiliated many times, only by him, the person she loves though it seems unrequited. She liked Sasuke very much. In fact he was her first crush. She even ruined her friendship with Sakura for him. But when the genin teams were arranged, she was teamed up with Chouji and Shikamaru. She hated him at first, his laid-back attitude, laziness and the 'how troublesome' punch line. It annoys her, he wasn't even that handsome. But later on, she started to like him. She got over sasuke, knowing that there's only a droplet-like chance for them to be together. Shikamaru wasn't that bad, he was easy to love. She concluded, she love him.

From that day, she pretended to like sasuke; make him jealous, but still her plan backfired. He didn't give a damn about it. He didn't care, always saying his favorite punch line. She attempted numerous times to get him, but it was always a failure. She always got home with downcast eyes.

Years passed by, Ino was 16 then, her father told her. She was to be married by Shikaku Nara's son. She didn't know how to react. She was happy. Nothing's gonna stop her now. Their fathers already arrange it.

That afternoon, they met at the training grounds. She cried that night.

"_Ino, do not agree. Say 'no' to your father."_

"_what? why not?"_

"_you should know it. We are teammates. I can't marry my bestfriend. And also, someone will be broken-hearted"_

"_bestfriend? Is that what you really think about me? And who will be broken-hearted?"_

"_yeah you are my bestfriend. That's just it, nothing more. And chouji, he likes you."_

"_chouji…"_

She found out that day. Chouji likes her. So what would she do now that she found out something which is terrible? So many questions run through her mind. Would she regret tying the knot with Shikamaru? Should she really had given chouji a chance?

She screamed out of frustration. Shikamaru woke up.

"What the hell are you shouting for?!"

000

The baby was in temari's arms. She was mouthing to Kankuro everything she planned for his newborn son for hours, over and over again. But it seems that she had forgotten the most important thing.

"Temari,why should you name him first?"

"oh? Yeah you're right" she thought "let's see…"

after several minutes…

"have you found a good name?"

"yeah… Shiki, Nara Shiki"

000

chapter 5 up! To all the ino-haters who had read my fic:

pls. don't hate me for giving her a large portion of the chapter.

Anyway, I hate Ino and I dislike her. I also hate Shikaino


	6. filler

THIS IS A FILLER CHAPTER

I WILL POST THE REAL CHAPTER 6 IN A FEW WEEKS.

SORRY!

AND ALSO ITS INOSHIKACHO CENTRIC

00000

_She screamed out of frustration. Shikamaru woke up._

"_What the hell are you shouting for?!"_

00000

Ino was breathing heavily. She cannot control her emotions that she had to scream just to take it out. She was all sweaty and shivering. Shikamaru placed his palm on her forehead, checking if his WIFE has a fever. _'yeah right… wife…' _But before it even landed on her skin, she shoved it away.

"Don't touch me!" Ino stood up Looking at him like a wild animal that has escaped from its cage. "How dare you?!" she raised her hand holding the necklace. "How dare you do this to me?!"

Shikamaru was stunned. He just seemed to be somewhat… ashamed and… guilty. He looked away. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't speak. He knew it was his fault. It was so wrong though it feels just right. He apologized. "sorry" was all he managed to say. He noticed her fell down on her knees. She was still crying.

"go away"

Without having any second thoughts he got out of the room. "If that's what you want"

That night, on the first day of his marriage, he slept on the couch.

000

Shikamaru woke up late, as always. He was supposed to meet Kankuro, this morning, since he was the new ambassador to Suna. Having Kankuro by your side in a day makes his whole world a lot more troublesome. He didn't know why he was always pissed with him. He frequently asks 'how's temari' but all he managed to receive was a glare. He just change the subject quickly to avoid a bigger conflict. He still didn't know the reason why Kankuro replaced temari's place. And Every time he questions the Hokage, it was not really a help.

Shikamaru stood up heading for the bathroom. Ino wasn't there, she must be out somewhere, cooling off. He quickly took a quick bath and change into his issued clothes; black spandex, fishnet shirts and his chuunin vest. He went out of the house and quickly went into the Hokage's mansion.

There he was, temari's younger brother Kankuro. Arms crossed and obviously pissed.

"you're late"

0000

the two shinobis were walking side by side. No one was talking. Shikamaru was looking at the clouds and Kankuro, who knows?

Shikamaru was the one to seize the silence. "so, how's temari?"

As always, he received a glare, but this time, words were added. " do really wanna know? I suggest you, not to"

00000

Shikamaru felt somewhat empty. Kankuro had left him an hour ago. He definitely had no idea of what he meant by that. _"Do really wanna know? I suggest you, not to". _Itrang on his ears several times but stopped as he saw a view. On the academy playground was Ino and Chouji. Ino was seated on a swing, she was still crying but calmed down a bit. Chouji was pushing her. He smiled behind the tree. It was so wrong yet it feels so right. He really wanted those two together. His two bestfriends.

He went home with an empty stomach. Since he was lazy, he didn't bother to cook, He just let himself fell asleep from hunger.

Ino didn't came home that night. Who knows? She might be with Chouji.

00000

a few months passed. Shikamaru and Ino were slightly fine with their relationship. But still, nothing happened between them. Shikamaru was still sleeping on the couch and Ino on the bedroom. These past few days, Ino was slightly gaining some weight. It must be because of depression, but no, Her stomach was growing into a bulge. HE also noticed that she was frequently throwing up, every time she eats her favorite food.

Ino knew, she was pregnant.

Shikamaru knew, it wasn't his.

00000

a preview for the nest chapter: it's entitled **3 years later**

"_Hey kid, are you new here?" Shikamaru asked a little boy. He seemed to be lost. _

_The boy didn't answer and just looked at him strangely. "…"_

"_what's your name?"_

"_my mommy said not to tell it to strangers_"

ooo

Ok that's it, watch out for the nest chapter. You may also want to read my new fic. I'ts entitled **Naruto 2: the sequel**. It has a different twist, and I'm trying to make it better. All characters are included, and the parings are still undecided.

Thanks for reading


	7. 3 years later

"ne, mama?" two year old Nara Shiki asked his mom. He was seated on the bed swinging his feet back and forth while his mom was packing their clothes. On the next four days is his upcoming fourth birthday. It was unusual for them to go somewhere when his birthday is nearly coming. His previous birthdays were a very big occasion for the People in Sunagakure. Everyone was invited and he has received many gifts. His last birthday was very eventful, that the only thing that ruined it was his mother, when she swung her fan on the numerous fan girls that were shouting some nonsense (ex. "Marry me!") outside the mansion. For God's sake, he was just a three year old kid. "where are we going?"

Shiki was well-known in Suna, not as Nara Shiki but as Sabaku no Shiki, nephew of the Kazekage. But he wasn't only famous for that, he was known for his great skills for a mere three year old boy. He can speak clearly without making any mistakes in his words. And it is not normal for a three year old to beat the Kazekage in a match of checkers.

Temari turned her head to look at his asking son. "Konoha" she replied. She wasn't sure if it is a good idea to celebrate her son's fourth birthday in Konoha. Not to mention he was Shikamaru's kid, a Konoha shinobi. "Now don't just sit there and watch, come help me" Temari ordered her LAZY son. He was really Shikamaru's son, black haired, dark eyes, a genius and mostly lazy. It's a good thing he was her son or else he would have been smacked by now for his laziness.

"Konoha?"

"yeah Konoha"

"does that mean that I can see daddy?" Shiki's eyes lightened when he heard the word Konoha. He was so excited, for the first time. He had heard that place from his uncle Kankuro. His uncle always tells him stories about his dad. How stupid he is and at the same time a genius.

Temari paused. Meeting Shikamaru wasn't part of the plan. "No" She said straightly. They will go there to celebrate his birthday, not to meet his father. _'damnit Kankuro! I told you not to tell him'_

"_Why not…?" _

00000

"She- I mean they will be arriving today" Tsunade said.

"really?! Who is with her? Kankuro? Gaara?" Sakura asked excitedly. She haven't seen Temari for three consecutive years. They had developed some sort of bond since Sakura is the only one she can talk to properly. Hinata was too shy to speak but nevertheless sensible. Talking with Tenten was a bit awkward in view of the fact that Temari had almost broke her backbone with her fan. Ino, they always end up arguing. Ino is vain and she is not and the hidden fact that they've been sandwiching Shikamaru in a long time.

Tsunade sighed. She haven't told anyone about Nara Shiki, except for Shizune. Gaara requested for the whole object to be kept as a secret. So not to ruin any treaty between Konoha and Suna regarding Temari and Shikamaru's relationship. "well… She's with her so-err Shiki"

"Shiki? Who is he?..." Sakura thought for a while on who that shiki is? _Her boyfriend?! Shikamaru wouldn't be happy if he knew about this._ "Ok I knew it. She's with her BOYFRIEND"

Tsunade's eyes widened. "boyfriend?" She burst out laughing uncontrollably

"What's so funny?" Sakura crossed her arms. _Did I say something funny? _"Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade stopped and coughed intentionally. "It's her son Sakura. Sorry I didn't tell you"

"SON?!"

00000

"Mom? Are we there yet?" Shiki grumbled for the 30th time. It was his first time to travel to a different nation. And God, he wasn't even a genin yet! But still he was like a genin for his intellect and advancement.

"one hour more"

Shiki sighed

00000

"SON?! HUH?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! WHO'S THE FATHER?! TSUNADE-SAMA?! WHAT DO-" Sakura was cut off by Tsunade

"SHUT YOUR BIG MOUTH UP!" Tsunade yelled at Sakura

"sorry…"

"Now let me explain… you see 3 years ago… uhhmm well I don't really know the story exactly but Temari and Shikamaru is somewhat dat-"

"YOU MEAN IT'S SHIKAMARU'S?!"

"Precisely"

"So that's the reason… But how about Ino? And-"

"That's the problem…"

00000

"we're here" Temari, holding shiki's small hand was standing in front of the Konoha gates "It's been a while Konoha"

"It's wonderful" Shiki said mesmerized on how Konoha was so different than Suna "clouds…" There is no sand, but rather trees. The wind makes him shiver unlike Suna's warm air.

"clouds?" Temari looked at her son. She haven't heard of that word in ages. It's Shikamaru's favorite thing on the planet. The clouds. "What about them?"

"They are so carefree. I want to be one someday"

"_you're really his son…"_She smiled " OH! Shiki we should get going now. The hokage is waiting for us"

00000

"Temari-san?" Izumo, one of the gate guards questioned but more of a greeting. He isn't that familiar with Temari personally, but it was Shikamaru who made him know her more.

"Hello… Izu-err Izuma… Azuma-san?" Right, she didn't really got a chance to be acquainted with these people since Shikamaru was always the one who sends her off the gate.

"Izumo" He said scratching the back of his head. It was long after he noticed a very familiar pineapple-head boy behind temari's back. He know he had seen this kid somewhere before but it seems that his memory has lowered down. He didn't mind it. But there's something that really makes him curious. "the hokage is waiting for you. She is at her office right now." He paused still curious about the little boy. "Dou you know the way there temari-san?" He said still staring at Shiki. It was an excuse to find out more about this mysterious boy.

However, it was useless.

"No thanks. I know the way there"

he sighed

00000

"Mom? Who is that man?" Shiki asked while walking down the streets towards tho hokage mansion.

"he is your daddy's friend"

"why can't I see daddy?"

"because it would ruin both of our lives"

"Why would it ruin both of your lives?"

"Because he has another wif- … a different responsibility"

"…" Shiki looked at the ground "is it more important than us?"

temari looked sorrowfully at her son. _It is very hard for a child not to have a father. "_I think so. Don't worry, I'm sure he really love you"

"I hope so"

00000

A knock was heard outside Tsunade's office. Sakura's body shivered in excitement. _They're here!_

The door's knob turned. _oh my god! Oh my god!_

The door is slightly widening…

"Ohayou!" it was Hatake Kakashi.

Sakura fell down on the ground

00000

"You may go now Kakashi"

"excuse me" Kakashi formed a hand seal and quickly disappeared into a puff of smoke

Another knock was heard from the outside.

It quickly opened and revealed the famous sand shinobi… and a little pineapple-headed boy behind.

"It's nice to see you again Tsunade hokage-sama" Temari greeted and quickly noticed Sakura. "oh it's nice to see you too again sakura!"

There was no response. Just a sigh from Tsunade. Sakura was stunned looking at the direction of the Nara boy.

"D-did Shikamaru sh-shrink in size?"

"Sakura, you're really an idiot sometimes" Tsunade said in a calm tone

"Helloo" The boy greeted

00000

the next day: Shiki's birthday

00000

"mom? I thought there's a party? Why are we just eating in a dango shop"

"I told you it's dangerous if we had a celebration here. You're dad might notice and it will really cause such a great disaster"

"…"

"don't you like it?"

"it's not that… I'm just wondering, what would it be like if I'm celebrating my birthday with both my mommy and daddy?" Shiki smiled imagining his birthday with his dad. Though in his imagination, his dad's face was blank. "Mom? Can I go to that playground?" Shiki pointed at the playground beside the KONOHA ACADEMY. "I can take care of myself"

"ok, I'm going home now, be home before it's pitch black, it's dangerous in here"

"yes mom!"

Temari kissed her son's forehead and quickly departed heading for their rented hotel. She wasn't sure about her feeling. There is something that makes her stomach twist but something also tells her that it was a good sign. She looked back at her son again. There he was, playing on the swing.

She knew her son's intelligence and she trusted him for that.

00000

Letting out a breath, Shikamaru walked lazily out of the ACADEMY. He was so tired because of today's class that he had to use his kage mane technique just to tame those wild kids. He really wanna sleep right now, on his bed. But since he was sleeping on the couch for 3 straight years, there was really no chance. At the same time, he doesn't really wanna go home, because it was his and ino's 3rd anniversary today. Well, his mother just planned a stupid celebration for them, and what he did was to ignore it and went to teach his class.

Going home with a wife you do not love and a daughter who isn't yours is kinda odd for him. It's not that he doesn't love those two, but something's just missing. His parents were really an idiot! Haven't they realized it yet? It wasn't his daughter for goodness sake! A fat orange-haired little girl? Isn't that weird? She was supposed to be a skinny raven-haired little girl, right?

He was walking across the playground when he spotted a pineapple-headed boy on the swing, both hands under his chin that seemed to be sad. He walked closely. It was a surprise that there was a lone kid on the swing. He haven't seen this kid before so definitely, it wasn't his student. He stepped closer.

"Hey kid, are you new here?" Shikamaru asked a little boy. He seemed to be lost.

The boy didn't answer and just looked at him strangely. "…"

"what's your name?"

"my mommy said not to tell it to strangers"

"_yeah right…" _Shikamaru sighed and seated at the other swing. "fine. But perhaps I could send you home?"

Shiki looked Shikamaru strangely, eyeing him critically. "No you can't… Mr. copycat"

Shikamaru was stunned. Copycat? Where that word did came from? "copycat? Uhh.. I'm not kakashi if you are mistaken?"

"You copied my hairstyle, Idiot copycat"

Shikamaru was once again stunned by this little fellow's attitude. It was sorta like Temari's. He didn't exactly know if he wants to laugh or feel insulted by this little guy.

"Ok, if you don't wanna let me know you're house then maybe I could send you to the Hokage's mansion, or maybe… just maybe you could come into my house? Uhh todays's my anniversary with my er-wife" he scratched his head. He can't really say the word wife when referring to Ino.

Shiki looked excited. But still, he was having second thoughts if this man was to be trusted.

"Are you sure you want to invite Mister?"

"of course. Come on now it's getting really dark. It's dangerous in here at night" Shikamaru said, motioning for shiki to come follow him, but it appears that he was a lazy kid like what he was when he was about his age. "yeah fine, I'll carry you"

"Mister? What should I call you?"

"oh? Uhh my name is shi- ah no no, since you don't wanna tell me your name, I wont tell you mine neither, so you could just call me… hmmm….cloud-man?... yeah Cloud-man"

Shiki slightly giggled. "you're funny mister! Oh I forgot Cloudman!"

"perhaps I could call you pineapple boy?" Shikamaru smiled

"you're really funny Mr. cloud-man!"

"we should better be going now"

"YEAH!" shiki answered in a loud manner

00000000

the real chapter 6 is finished. The next chapter would be **Cloud-man and pineapple-boy's conversation**

If you don't mind I have a few questions to ask:

what should I name ino's fat daughter?

how should I end this fic?

suggestions? Cause I'm running out of ideas

Ok thank you for reading. Right now, I really need some motivation so pls give me some. School is very hard and stupid.


	8. cloudman and pineappleboy's chat

A/N: I have named Ino's daughter as Shikako. Why? First I named her as Chouko but then my sister told me that according to my plot line, Shikamaru's parents do not know that IT IS NOT shikamaru's daughter. So it doesn't make sense if Shikamaru's known daughter would be named after Chouji. Right?

I'm very sorry for the late updates…( exams are coming…(I wish I could pass) and there are loads of projects…

If you are just wondering about the time, it's just about 3 in the afternoon so Shikamaru and shiki would have more time to chat. Here it goes…

Cloudman and Pineapple boy's chat

He feels odd right now. There's something strange about this boy, which he couldn't figure out what it is, even with the help of his genius mind. Carrying a child of your own feels like carrying pineapple boy. "_It's weird…really weird" _Shikamaru thought. He never felt this way whenever he holds Shikako. _"Just who is this lil'guy? Is he my lost brother or a lost son of mine?" _He thought and laughed about his wild imagination.

Shiki raised an eyebrow "what's so funny cloudman?"

Shikamaru stopped and remembered that he is not alone "oh… nothing" _this is so troublesome, why did I even considered to bring this kid into my house? It's not like I know him… anyway gotta handle this…_

"where'd ya live?"

"in my house" shiki replied grinning

_This kid is full of sarcasm… how troublesome _"It's not like I will bother you in there, just tell me so I could send you home safel-" he was cut off

"I can take care of myself, without anyone protecting me"

There was silence after that. He knew he could not get a proper response with this kid.

"What's your mom's name huh?"

"I told ya I won't tell…"

There was silence again. He was right. Maybe change the topic

"Do you play games"

"of course Im a kid"

There he goes again. Sarcasm "what games do you play?"

"checkers"

"I also play that when I was a kid like you" _The subject is fine right now. His answers are far from sarcasm. _Shikamaru thought. It was like a very sensitive investigation. Maybe try a new one

"Do you have a brother or a sister?"

"I don't. But I wish I had" Shiki answered gloomy.

"You know, I have a err-daughter, well not really daughter but then she is my daughter" Shikamaru said doubtfully making shiki laugh

"You really funny- hahaha- I just wish- haha my dad is like you" Shiki stated between laughs.

Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow. "why? Is your dad a bad guy?"

"my mom said dad's away… I asked my mommy if I could see daddy, but she said he has a different responsibility"

"Oh… uh… sorry"

"it's okay…" shiki's cheered up quickly " because mommy said he loves me

Shikamaru smiled.

00000000

A fatty orange-headed girl was sitting in the terrace of their house along with her mother. They were eating a strawberry ice cream which was supposedly the dessert for the celebration. But since her husband didn't show up, they just have to eat it so not to waste it. Every year it was always like this; Yoshino and Ino would always cook and bake, and Shikaku would just watch and sleep while Shikamaru would just have to ignore it.

"Mommy wew is daddy?" Shikako is turning 4 after a few months. Maybe when she get a little older she could speak clearly.

"He's already in his way home baby. Don't worry he'll be here soon." Ino looked at her daughter with a false smile. Yes, he's coming home late again, ignoring every effort she does.

Pulling a cloth from her pockets she wiped off the pink smudge of strawberry ice cream off of her daughter's face. Shikako looked innocently at her mother. Ino smiled genuinely even though she could feel the world's weight on her back right now.

She has retired from the shinobi world after a year she married Shikamaru. A big change occurred and after a few months without training instead doing house chores, she gained some weight. Not really big just about 15 lbs. The old Ino; vane, pretty, sexy and figure-conscious was now replaced by a 25 year old hag, but yet she's still a beauty in the eyes of her friends and family.

0000000

" Hey kid are you hungry?"

"no I just ate 3 dangos earlier"

"I see… what do you wanna do?"

"I want to play"

0000000

Being a kage is the biggest responsibility for a shinobi. Especially for a mere 24 year old. But love has driven him into this position. The kage is the strongest shinobi of a village and if not the second. A kage is someone to be respected, and usually feared by anyone who opposed him. He should protect his village even if it requires his own life. He should do everything in order to prevent war. And most of all he should and must handle everything that crosses his path. He could slay anyone with a simple word, _Sabaku Kyuu. _But not this one. It doesn't involve clash of jutsus, it doesn't involve any bright strategies or any opponent but instead it involves… a partner.

For the 11th time, Gaara gritted his teeth. His hands are clenched and the sand inside his gourd is swirling intensely. _This is not the time for this_. He thought. Eyeing the scroll, he reread it over again.

"…_for the bearer of thy honored blood shall inherit the kazekage's power"_

From his point of view, it was stupid, extremely stupid. _"Whoever council had proposed this deserves death" _he thought.

"…_and thus a legacy shall continue"_

"_What the hell is this legacy thing all about? Since when did our nation start a legacy? It was pure coincidence that I am the one who succeeded the yondaime Kazekage, which is my father…"_

Setting the scroll aside, Gaara closed his eyes and massage his temples. Hisbrowless eyebrow creased in annoyance. Until an idea popped into his mind.

_It doesn't mean that it has to be a native of Sunagakure…I don't even know any woman besides Temari and Matsuri…_

_It could be something to build up a new alliance… or to strengthen a broken one _

_No no no no…_

_There is no such rule that every Kazekage needs to have an heir…_

_Stupid Council to think of something like this... But… The council is not that dim-witted to do such requests… This has to be a work of someone who wants to make fun of me!_

_Yeah that's right, to make fun of the Kazekage…_

The young Kazekage hissed… "Kankuro!"

**3 days ago…**

Kankuro who was sprawled lazily on the couch with loads of peanuts in his mouth muttered "hey bro, aren't ya bored screwing all day with that paperwork?"

Gaara didn't even flinch

Kankuro, still munching, raised a purple eyebrow "I know you heard me, but then I'm just worried about your life" –munch- "you could be insane…again… dealing with that crap all day and if not y-" he stopped in mid-sentence when a peanut accidentally got stuck into his throat. He got up and held his front neck and managed to say "gaa-aarrra…. Waa-a-tt-te-r" And now he's choking. Kankuro couldn't take it and quickly ran outside the office.

Gaara smirked. Now he's finally alone and could deal with the paper work without any distraction.

But that's what he thought.

A few minutes later….

The door was vigorously opened by a black suited puppet boy with a purple make-up smear right into his mouth. Kankuro with little sweats dripping down his forehead was heavily panting. Wiping off the purple smear with the back of his hand he said "I thought I -pant- was gon -pant- gonna die"

"that's for you," Gaara still smirking said in as-a-matter-of-fact way "eating peanuts without a water on your side" The younger brother paused and looked at the panting brother "That's what idiots usually do, Kankuro" He returned signing his paperwork.

"I'm not an idiot it just got stuck" Walking back to the couch he was earlier sprawled, he seated with his legs crossed while resting his right arm into the arm rest. "well anyway back to the topic… It's really boring and insaning"

"Hey I've got an idea!" Kankuro quickly jumped out of the chair and hastily ran in the front of gaara's desk "Why don't ya get yourself a wife?!... Ya know, screwing with a woman instead of paperwork could be fun!"

Gaara's scribbling was brought into a standstill. Then there was silence… that only the blowing sand could be heard.

A pair of sand-made hands gripped kankuro's ankles, waist and arms "o-oi ga-gaara? i- I'm just kidding!" Kankuro was heavily sweating and faked a smile. Even without Shukaku, his brother was still dangerous. The door opened and the sand-made hands threw Kankuro outside the room. With Kankuro lied into the ground, the door shut.

In the back of the door Gaara heard his older brother cursing him " I SWEAR GAARA I WILL FIND YOU A WIFE! AND IF NOT I'LL MAKE YOU FIND ONE!"

Gaara smirked again " as if you can"

**Back to the present**

Yes, Idiot Kankuro could really do it. He's a genius with these matters.

_I'll kill that idiot in no time!_

His train of murderous intents were cut off when someone knocked on the door. With an emotionless voice he responded to the knock "come in"

The shinobi entered and bowed his head a sign of respect "Kazekage-sama, the council wants you. They will be holding a meeting this afternoon"

"I understand. You're dismissed"

"Hai! Kazekage-sama" The faithful shinobi disappeared in a cloud of smoke

000000000

Shikamaru and Shiki finally arrived at his house "pineapple- boy, welcome to hell home"

" get inside, there are only 2 people in there, I mean 4" After 4 years of marriage to Ino, he still wasn't used to it "Don't worry they don't bite"

XXX

A fuming Yoshino was replaced by a very stunned one. She was taken a back when she saw a little figure enter their house. She was supposed to return the dishes into the kitchen when it was accidentally dropped to the floor. With that noise, Shikaku heard it and quickly ran into the place where his wife was brought into standstill.

"Yoshino, what is tha-…" He couldn't even finish a sentence when he was Brought into the world where Yoshino was in too.

Shiki placed his hand at his back and bowed his head. " Hello!"

"mmm—myyy sssooonnn shhrrruunnnnk?" The couple chorused

Chibi tears were flowing down Yoshino's eyes and rushed into Shiki side. She placed her hands on both sides of Shiki's shoulder and shook it violently. "Shikamaru! Shikamaru! What happened?- sob- Who-sob- did this to you?"

The door opened opened once again and it was Shikamaru.

"Hey mom! I'm home, I'm so—HEY MOM WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH PINEAPPLE BOY?! YOU COULD BE CHARGED WITH CHILD ABUSE!"

Yoshino looked up to see another Shikamaru. This Shikamaru is the one that has the original face and body. She was in horror and quickly backed away

"yyooouuu? Whhooo the HELLAREYA?! WHERE IS MY SON! YOU ALIENS"

"Relax mom it's me" Shikamaru waved his hands in front of him motioning that he was the real one "This kid is someone I think is missing…"

"I'm not missing" Shiki countered

He looked down at shiki and rolled his eyes back to Yoshino "yeah whatever… But since he doesn't want to tell me his name, his address, or even his mom's name… I just decided to just bring him here"

"Is that true?"

"Do I look like I'm lying"

Yoshino rushed forward and hugged Shikamaru that it was choking him to death "Oh Shikamaru! What a good boy! I thought some aliens made you shrink in size"

"Mom! I can't breathe!"

"Oh sorry, anyway what's your name lil' fellow?" Yoshino knelt down to match Shiki's height

"My mommy said not to tell it to strangers"

"oh how cute! It was the same thing I thought my son when he was still a kid like you!" The grandmother hugged his own grandson unbeknownst to her. _There's something in this child that I don't feel when hugging Shikako. _Yoshino secretly thought. She stood up and held Shiki's small hand " you want a strawberry ice cream?"

"I want that!" The boy squealed

XXX

With Yoshino and Shiki in the kitchen, Shikamaru and Shikaku who was still in a standstill were left in the living room.

"Hey old man!" Shikamaru lightly kicked his father's side

"Hey! Where am i? HEY! I thought you shrunk?!

Shikamaru sighed "Did your IQ dropped into 20?"

XXX

Ino and Shikako who was still in the terrace was disturbed by a previously crying Yoshino.

"mommy? What is that?"

"stay here I'll just take a look inside"

"ok mommy"

XXX

Ino walked downstairs and quickly scanned the objects around. There's nothing unusual within the place. It was normal, Nara Shikaku who was sleeping on the couch, a messy living room, a little black nin-sandalswhich was odd. It's impossible to be Shikako's because her's was blue not black and clearly, it has a different design. And what scared her most was the little guy eating an ice cream in the dining area which obviously looked very much alike with Shikamaru.

Ino quickly ran downstairs and came face to face with the child who she doesn't know was Temari and her husbands son. "Shikamaru?! Did you shrunk?"

Unlike Yoshino, Ino was more composed on asking questions. Shiki paused licking his ice cream and replied.

"I am not Shikamaru or whoever that man is…"

XXX

"_stupid cloudman, I thought we were gonna play…and now his family is drowning me with questions…I did not or will not shrink and mostly I am not that Shikamaru guy " _Shiki thought after Ino left her with a train of questions

000000

There ya go people!!! Aww thx for reading… and to all the reviewers a million tnx

And by the way… another question:

choose one for the next chapter

1. rendezvous- wherein Ino and Temari will talk about certain things

2.henge- temari would accidentally see Shikamaru in the streets and again accidentally transformed into

shiki. She transformed into her son because she didn't know they were friends but little did she

know that the 2 were supposed to meet.

3. any of the two

second question: which Naruto girl would be best suited as gaaras wife?

1.Sakura

2.Hinata

3.Tenten

4.just let that scenario die, he's not the main character anyway

5.any of the 3

THANKS FOR READING


	9. HENGE!

Another chapter…

Henge won by 4 votes, and for the second question it's a tie. "sakura" and "just let the scenario die" both have the same points. So I Decided to forget about the marriage thingy and just give hints with sakura and go on with the story.

Is that ok?

Anyway, kumo means cloud

HENGE

Ino was astounded. The boy licking the strawberry ice cream looks exactly like Shikamaru. Is that even possible? Yes it is. It could be someone's son whose parents are somewhat related to the Naras or just happened to be a look-alike of the Naras. Or could this boy be Shikamaru's child whom he hid for the past three years. Who's the mom if that theory is true? A non-shinobi girl or worst Temari. No, Temari is not here. Not one mother can forsake her own child in three consecutive years. "Please… let it be not someone's child with him…At least not her."

Ino paused on her train of thoughts. Instead of just looking at the weird kid from behind she pulled the chair and seated in front of the strawberry ice cream-eating kid

"Hello there" Ino put her palms on the both sides of her jaw.

"hi" Shiki replied without even looking at the speaker

"What's your name?"

"my mom said not to tell it to strangers… call me pineapple-boy"

"oh…"

00000000

Shikamaru and Yoshino were outside the Nara household. Yoshino whose hands were on either sides of her hips and Shikamaru sitting at the bench. Yoshino was fuming and Shikamaru know what that is; pineapple-boy. He knew it would come to this. He knew his mom would suspect. But what do you expect from a mere coincidence that he looks exactly like the kid.

"Oi Shikamaru" Yoshino crossed her arms and looked at her son "what's the meaning of this?"

"As much as I want to tell you, I don't have anything to do wit-" Before he could even finish Yoshino countered

"You liar! Just tell me an-"

"I told you I don't have anything to do with that kid!" Shikamaru snapped. He was irritated about the situation. He knew it would come to this but he guessed he isn't ready. "He's not mine, if that's what you want to know"

OOOOOOO

"it's really delicious" shiki replied

_"I told you I don't have anything to do with that kid!" _

Ino heard his voice. Is there something wrong with those two outside? And what kid? Is that shiki? Could her suspicions be true. "uhh..pineapple-boy, I'm just going outside okay"

"okay"

Ino rushed through the doorway and had her back on the wall beside the door

_"It's not mine, if that's what you want to know"_

OOOOOOO

"then prove it"

"How can I prove something I don't even have the knowledge of?" Shikamaru place his hand on his forehead "tell me"

Ino's brow was creasing. She's so hooked up in the events that she forgot about Shikako who was waiting upstairs

"What about temari?" Yoshino placed her palms at her eyes covering them. "Answer me"

Ino covered her mouth keeping the voice that wants to spill in no time. She was becoming teary but found no reason to be. It was just a suspicion and it's not proven yet

Shikamaru's eyes widen. _Temari?_"Our relationship is over for a long time. She doesn't have anything to do with this. And don't involve her here." He stood up and walked pass his mother. He paused at the front door "I told you it's not mine, and if there's a chance it is, I'd be happy to leave this hell."

000000

Ino sensed him coming inside. Rushing inside the house, she glanced at her right where the mysterious boy was previously sitting. He was gone. She wanted to know more about him, but still her daughter is more important.

000000

Shiki was sitting at the couch. At the foot of Shikaku Nara. He was just simply watching his grandfather sleep and drool in front of him. He chuckled at the sight. Looking at the watch hanged on the wall he sighed. It was already 6 and it's time to go home. _"__mom__ must be thinking of a punishment right now"_

Shikaku was awaken by a soft warm 'pillow' in his foot. The old Nara looked up and saw that it wasn't a 'pillow'. It's the kid earlier. Shikamaru's look-alike. _Their_ look-alike. He admits that this kid really does resemble the two of them except for his complexion. The kid's paler than them. It's really a mystery on where this kid came from. As much as he remembers, this is the first time he saw the kid. And there's this feeling inside of him that wants to keep the child for them.

He sat up and stretched his arms up. Shiki looked at him. He was staring and obviously he was bored. He wanted to know his name, but since he repeated that he won't tell it he jumped to the second question

"hey young man, where'r you from?"

His eyelids got slightly down, almost saying that "these people are so stubborn!"

Shikaku understood his "eye" language and shove the topic away. He scooted a little closer and said in a whisper-like tone "c'mon tell me, it'd just be a secret between you and me"

Shiki didn't react this time. He was tired of this people asking his name and whatever information they wanted to know. "stupid old man" he hissed

"did you say something?" Shikaku brought his hand into his ear.

The door burst open and showed an angered Shikamaru and glanced at the clock, he looked at Shiki

"come on Pineapple-kid your mother must be waiting for you"

_I thought we were __gonna__ play_ "ok"

00000

"ne cloud-man?" Shiki asked looking at the sky.

"what?" Shikamaru asked looking up at the boy who was asking the question and at the same time ruffling his hair. "Hey stop that you're messing my hair!"

"but it's itchy! Your hair is getting on my neck!" And by the way, he's head's between Shiki's legs

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "well it's your fault you don't want to walk with your own feet.. your lazy"

"it's my dad's fault" he paused taking a breath " mom said that dad's lazy too"

"'mom said'? you mean… well… how to say this…" he paused scratching his head " where's your dad?" he continued.

"he's not with us, mommy said he has a different responsibilities… that's why" without him knowing he was hugging Shikamaru's head. "but it's fine cause mom said he really really love me"

"you've never seen him?"

Shiki nodded, pointing at the direction where the inn he was staying was.

"do you want to see him?"

He nodded again "but I don't know where he is"

"did you ever ask your mom?"

"she won't tell"

"Do you want to find him?"

Shiki's eyes lightened up, his back straightened. He jumped while sitting between Shikamaru's head "I'm gonna meet dad! Oh yeah!"

"hey hey God you're heavy! Stop that"

"sorry cloud-man I'm just excited!" He hugged his head again squeezing his brain out. "Can we find him tomorrow? Huh?" pausing, shiki looked at the bright lights of 'Kumo inn', the place they were staying. "Hey cloud-man that's my house!" he pointed

"oh… you better get down" Putting the boy down, Shikamaru held his _son's_ hand.

While walking, Shiki continuously pulled his hand down "hey cloud-man! Can we find him?!"

They seized walking. Shikamaru looked at the boy pulling his hand. _"God he's doing it!"_ He thought as Shiki looked at him with the puppy-eyes. He sighed then smiled "look's like I don't have a choice"

000000

_Kumo__ inn was the place he wanted to live badly. __When he was still a kid.__ It's a heavenly place with clouds everywhere. From the ceiling to the floor, it's clouds. _

They were standing in the front the inn where the bright lights outlining the building were blinding them. Shikamaru pulled the boy's hand and motioned to get inside. He went to the receptionist and asked for the room where the kid was staying or maybe the kid's guardian.

The woman quickly searched some papers and documents. She paused and found a note.

"sir, his mom said earlier for the kid to wait for her at the lobby "

Shikamaru nodded thanks and looked at the innocent boy beside him.

"your mom said that you wait for her at the lobby" he looked at his watch which read 6:23 "guess I'd be going now… I'll just fetch you tomorrow Is that ok?"

Shiki nodded

000000

The hotel phone rang and Temari was sitting at the corner of the couch, crossed legs while skimming a magazine she was not even interested to look at. Just to buy time and relax and stop imagining stupid things which are highly impossible but still possible. Gritting her teeth, a picture pierce through her mind showing her son together with the man she want to long forget. If not for the phone call then the magazine would end up to pieces. It was lucky, a page was just crumpled.

Picking up the phone, she discarded the poor magazine into the nearest trash bin "who the hell is it?" Fury was still evident in her voice and that cause the pitiable receptionist to falter with her words on the other line.

"uh… Temari-san y-your son has ar-rived and he's currently at t-the lobby" Lucky her Temari was blinded with her anger that the only words the registered in her mind was the words 'son' and 'arrived'.

"I'll be there in a minute" Putting down the phone a bit of her anger diminished. She was somewhat relieved that her son got home safe and sound. But it doesn't change the fact that he's late and he made his mother worry, for the poor receptionist to hear his mom's unintentional words of fury.

000000

"Now, where have you been young man?"

Shiki was at the middle of the couch with both of his index finger fidget like what Hinata does when she's around her long time crush. His eyes were glued on the floor afraid that he might see the terror of his mom's piercing eyes while his palms continuously sweat. The tone of her voice was enough to send shivers down his spine that's why talking back was never an option.

"Did you know how worried your mom is?"

Shiki warily nod, afraid of raising his head higher that he might see her face. Temari crossed her arms seeing her son's gloomy face. It was truly painful for a mom to punish her son, but discipline comes first before pity.

"you are not allowed to go out of this room without my permission, understood?" Shiki's eyes widened in shock as her words circled his mind. His mouth agape as the young genius' tears flowed uncontrollably. It was then that he realized the weight on his side and the warm arms circling his small frame. Realizing that his mom was hugging him and it's becoming tight he also noticed the trail of tears behind her bangs. _"__she's__ crying too?"_

She was afraid of losing the only thing in the world that makes her breathe. What if she lost the custody of her only child. What if Shikamaru got wind of his child's existence? Would he take Shiki for himself? Or would he leave his family behind for the two of them?

"sorry mommy… I didn't mean to upset you…" Her trail of thoughts was broken by a tiny sobbing voice. Looking down on him, she wiped the tears from his eyes.

"sorry too…" she smiled as her son buried his face into her chest and continued to cry.

000000

The bright sunlight shone upon the fan-wielder as she sat up from her deep slumber. Her little boy was still asleep, curled up into the green covers. She stood up cautiously afraid of disturbing her boy's precious sleep. Opening the fridge and scanning thoroughly, she noticed the absence of milk.

Combing her hair with her fingers she groaned frustrated "of all the things why milk?!" she hissed

Giving up, she sighed, now she has to go outside in the middle of konoha's hot sun just to buy milk. She was so preoccupied that she didn't notice Shiki was now awake. He yawned and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"what is it mom?" Shiki managed to ask even though half of his eyelids are down.

Temari turned back "I need to buy milk"

"I can buy it f-" Shiki was cut off as Temari shot him a warning look

"You're grounded remember?"

"…" Shiki pouted and didn't say anything. He almost forgot his meeting with cloud-man. It was still no use even if he did remember it or not, he still can't go out.

Temari quickly changed from her midnight clothes and changed to the black kimono she usually wears. This time, she decided to change her hairstyle. She didn't do it in her usual four pigtails but instead let it down.

"wait for me and don't go out" she reminded "there's a bread on the counter and there's some butter on the fridge." She kissed his forehead and walked down the door. Before closing the door she said "Be a good boy!"

With his mom gone, he cannot help but feel guilty. What about cloud-man? He's waiting for me. But I'm afraid mom will be angrier at me.

"sorry cloudman…"

000000

Going down the stairs, she peered outside and noticed something familiar. She paused in the middle of the stairs and looked at the blurred image. Could it be? No. Why would he be here? As far as she knows, he lives somewhere far from this inn. Is he waiting for her? No impossible. He doesn't now I am - we're here. God what am I gonna do?

_"__Shit. I've got no choice!__"_

Quickly, she landed on the floor and ran into the nearest hallway.

"HENGE!"

Taking a look at her new appearance, she realized it was Shiki's. "_Oh shit! Why does it have to be my son?! Curse those old days! Now I'm regretting skipping classes when the teacher was teaching this __H__e__nge__ crap!"_ Temari thought, as she panicked.

"It's fine temari… It's fine… he doesn't know Shiki and this would be a good cover… You can do it Temari" Temari assured bracing herself

000000

Heart beating fast, she counted 1, 2 and 3 as she went outside. His back against the wall and one knee bendeed, obviously waiting for someone. She stepped outside feeling a bit different. She was small and her fan, it was not on her back. She feels very vulnerable.

"Hey!" Shikamaru called from her back

_"It's not you Temari… brace yourself… It's just someone else… __hehe__" _She laughed at her thought trying to forget about the situation and ignoring the call from behind, which she knows was really for her, but still denies it and still has hope it's not her

_"This kid could be snobbish sometimes… __tsk__… troublesome kid ignoring me" Shikamaru _thought as Shiki/Temari walked passed him without even glancing._ "Did he forget that we'll meet? __Or__ did he just forget that he knows me?"_

Shiki/Temari continued to walk, heart still racing. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that she was being carried up and being place into someone's head. She froze and her eyes widened. She could not manage to talk let alone move a single finger. She didn't know why she didn't even resisted. Was it instinct? Or could it be that she badly wanted to reunite with him

No, she shook her head.

"You could be snobbish sometimes you know?" Shikamaru broke her thoughts.

"you… how? How d-" Shiki/Temari asked in a whisper-like tone.

Her voice didn't even reach Shikamaru's ears. "You're lucky I did use my golden time for you, someone I hardly know, and helping him find his lost dad when I could be at home sleeping or watching the clouds. And now you're ignoring me?" Shikamaru said, sensing something was wrong, but since he didn't like to bother about things that don't trouble him, he shoved it off.

"dad? What dad?" Shiki/Temari asked intrigued. Is this the reason why Shiki was late from coming home last night? And worst is that, is this the man he was with yesterday?

"don't tell me you forget it? Geez, this is what you've asked me, just tell me If you're gonna back out so I could get home" Shikamaru replied annoyed. He couldn't tell but something was really wrong.

Seeing that there are too many things that need to be revealed Temari decide to just play along since there's really no way around to escape this mess. Though she badly denies it to herself, she wanted to spend time with him again, even just for a little while. "hehe… sorry I- I'm just excited hehe sorry"

000000

_This chakra… it's different fro__m__ yesterday. It's higher and I can't explain it but it's unruly unlike yesterday __where __it was composed.__ This chakra, I've felt this before, it is very familiar that I can't remember who that was.__Who's this kid exactly? __Troublesome…__ And why do I have to look like him? __Tsk__… now__ I'm bothered… Is he __mine__… __hahaha__… I don't even do one night stands for goodness sake! Except if he's __temari's__…. Now that would be impossible. Temari isn't here. And we've never seen each other for about… __uhh__… 4 consecutive years… I think… and hey! Of course I __use condoms whenever we do it… and she __should've told me… Hey __wait__… genius it's not yours alright… don't think of troublesome things ok… This kid's just __someones__… don't worry… you'll live in peace._

Shikamaru thought lost in the world of reality. Temari/Shiki, on the other hand was hugging his head.

_"__he's__ warm… I miss him…__" _ Temari thought closing her eyes.

"Hey pineapple boy, what's your dad's name?" Shikamaru asked broking her trance.

"my dad? Uhh.. his name… t-toshiro yeah it's Toshiro"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow "toshiro? Toshiro what?"

Temari froze toying with his hair " ha… h-HANAZAWA TOSHIRO! That's his name!" _what a brilliant name!_ Temari thought sarcastically

They continued to walk as they reached a dango shop. Shikamaru paused eyeing the counter if ever there's some dangos to eat left. Shikamaru rolled his eyes up " hey do you want something to eat?"

"s-sure"

0000000

They ate in silence. No one dared to talk as air passed between them. Shikamaru being the lazy guy, didn't bother to move a lip for the chewing of sweet dangos. Shiki/Temari looked up at him across the table. Glancing at his neck, she noticed. It's still there. The necklace she gave him. She smiled inwardly bowing her head to hide the upcoming redness on her cheeks. She looked at him. Carefully, she eyed his face critically, studying him if ever something has changed. Nothing has changed . What about his feelings? Did it changed. Did he still loved her like the old days.

Breaking the silence and not being able to restrain her emotions she asked. " Hey uhh" temari paused finding the right name to call him "mister? do you l-love you wife?"

Shikamaru looked down and paused chewing his meal. Wife? _Why interested in my __lovelife__ when__ he'__s too busy finding his lost __da_He smirked "well I have 2 wives. Which one do you like?" he answered sarcastically.

She glared and looked away. "whatever.."

The lazy genius shifted his weight as he brought the subject back. "to answer, I love them both"

"both?"

"yeah both, as in the two of them"

"I don't mean that, it's just aren't you feeling somewhat guilty for loving the two of them, at the same time?"

"You know, you're too young for this, besides we've got too find your dad?"

"but?"

_That's weird… Why does this kid's way of talking changed so suddenly. It's like talking to a person your age. Maybe, just maybe this isn't him. Yeah that would probably be right, he was ignoring me earlier and oh I remembered! He called me 'mister' not __cloudman_ Leaning at the table he smiled devilishly. _So unlikely for him._He knew it. This isn't the real kid he was talking to yesterday. It's a prank. But that's what he thought.

"Come with me, I have something to show you."

000000

Shikamaru brought her in a dark alleyway which made Temari/Shiki slightly chilly. It wasn't from the weather but from how things are appearing to be scary.

"Hey mister? W-where are we?"

He didn't answer but instead tightened his grip on her wrist.

Pushing her against the wall, he smiled devilishly.

"Hey what are you doing?" Temari asked angrily

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to say?" Shikamaru crossed his arms looking at her like she was an ant. "Tell me, who are you? " now _I know, if his answers wrong then it's definitely not him._

" my name? uhh.. SHUT UP that's none of your business get me out of here!"

"Now that was a bit incorrect." Shikamaru stated as a matter-of-factly " I thought you were supposed to say 'my mom said not tell it to strangers' right?"

Temari looked at him wide-eyed. She forgot. _Come on Temari think!_ " It-"

"enough the crap. Just show yourself troublesome prankster. Then it would soon be over. Just tell me what you want and-"

"AND WHAT?!" Temari snapped unable to maintain her emotions on position " do you know what you're talking about?! Huh? Can you give me what I want?!"

"…" he looked puzzled. "what are you saying?"

With a simple word Temari unleashed her cover "KAI!"

Shikamaru fell on the ground, mouth agape and eyes spilling out of his face. In his front was the one he badly wanted to see.

"T-temari"

000000000000000

Kai means 'release'

OWwW there you have it…. It's bit long compared to my previous chapters if you notice. Just to pay up for months of standstill… anyway, it wasn't what I was planning but well It was how it came out

A review is something to motivate the writer to update sooner… Thanks for reading…


	10. pure instinct

With a simple word Temari unleashed her cover "KAI!"

Shikamaru fell on the ground, mouth agape and eyes spilling out of his face. In his front was the woman he badly wanted to see.

"T-Temari"

-------

"T-Temari"

Temari quickly turned her back, walking away. Leaving a pale Shikamaru amidst the alleyway. stomping, she fisted her hands and silently cursed the milk.

Her blood was boiling along with the sweating palms underneath the fist, itching to strangle someone to release the unfamiliar feeling that was building up in her insides. That's it, she thought. How can she get out of this situation? Why did she have to transform into another person in the first place? The reason; she has no idea.

She was stopped by a hand making her shiver slightly. A second later, she jolted; a late reaction. Jerking her hand away, she turned to face him.

"What?"

"Can we talk?" Shikamaru spurted slowly loosening his grip "even just for a minute or two"

It wasn't a surprising question, but it made her think critically, like she was in the middle of a battle between the strongest nin in the world. It's becoming a no-win situation, whichever the option she chose, he would still win. If she says yes, they would talk, otherwise he would ask again, pleading if needed, and in the end they would still talk.

But yes and no aren't the only answers in the world. She wanted to win this battle, even if it's not starting yet.

"what are we gonna talk about?" Her inner self smiled arrogantly making thumbs up.

Shikamaru was taken aback, involuntarily scratching the back of his head. He looked down, hiding his face in sheer embarrassment. Isn't it obvious? "a-about _that _thing_" _He looked back at her, emphasizing the word THAT.

Temari raised an eyebrow, as if innocent about THAT. "THAT? What's THAT?"

Her victory is becoming visible.

He stiffened. At his side, he was also trying to win this game, and using his ingenuity. Seems that she was after all doesn't want to talk. But he couldn't let that happen. After years of waiting, this might be the only chance.

He sighed. Smirked inwardly. "fine. If you don't want to talk, you could have told me so, it's not like I would plead…" he slouched his shoulders and placed his hands inside his pants' pockets. "I won't do something that troublesome"

Her blood became boiling once again. She thought she would win. But she was Sabaku no Temari. And she won't let go of her pride.

"I'll just buy milk! Then you do what you want"

Shikamaru wasn't a genius for nothing.

oOoOoOoO

He waited patiently outside the store, tapping his foot in slight annoyance. Although as troublesome as it looks, Shikamaru still has some pride left in him. He never wanted to look like a colored statue outside the dairy shop.

A minute later, she was back with a plastic bag showing two bottle heads.

"Can we go now?" he asked

"sure"

oOoO

Unable to create a better conversation, Shikamaru asked out of nowhere. "Where's your fan?"

"ah.. that" she said "I don't need it. I came here for a vacation, not to do a mission"

"I see"

Silence enveloped the two again. Shikamaru kicked a lone stone beneath his foot making him walk a step behind her. She was the same, except for the hair, it's down. _Why didn't I notice it before? Idiot! _It has gotten longer, really longer, mid-waist. I wonder if she still wears it in pigtails. Shikamaru's eyes move slowly up and paused at her breasts. His face reddened, quickly turning away and erasing the dirty thoughts that were slowly forming.

He quickened his pace, walking side to side with her now. Temari looked at him wondering what had gotten to him. "Shikamaru? You all right? You're red" She seized walking, raising her arms as she placed her palms on Shikamaru's forehead making the neckline of her kimono open slightly exposing the cleavage of her ample breast.

Shikamaru's eyes widened in embarrassment making him turn away and noticed that it has gotten bigger than before. _Hey Idiot __don't__ shy away! It's not like you didn't see it before. You even did IT numerous times! Remember?_

"but you don't have a fever…" she said removing her hands away

"don't worry about it! It's just you know.. uh Hot! Yeah Hot!" He said waving his hands in front as a sign of no.

"I see" Temari smirked and muttered under her breath "Lazy pervert"

oOoOo a few minutes later…

The unlighted sign is coming into view now (It's morning so that's explains it). The sign which read _Kumo inn_ with the fancy cloud decoration on top. The inn where she was staying, the place she left her son, _their _son for a moment.

"You should go now, the inn's right there, I'm fine by myself"

He tilted his head, looking at her questioningly. He asked where and she pointed at the sign. He mouthed the words 'kumo inn'.

"Come to think of it, I was just outside that inn yesterday sending a mysterious boy home"

She grew more suspicious. No, Suspicious isn't the right word. She knew it; they had met without her knowledge. Temari's hand began to tremble against the bottle of milk. The feeling to strangle someone returned.

"that's also the reason why I was waiting outside earlier. Then you had to copy that boy then boom, I bump into you an-" he went on sarcastically but was cut off by a confused Temari

"Would you like to talk for a while?"

He smirked without knowing why. Perhaps something good was about to happen. Or a thing that would complicate things further. He didn't know what he was feeling at the moment. But his senses told him that it would cause trouble. A problem which cannot be resolved by brains alone. But then, his heart was still racing and he doesn't the answers right now, maybe later.

"sure"

"Wait outside, I'll be back within a minute"

His heart was jumping out of his veins rapidly, he never felt this way before. Excitement, a foreign word. A sensation which forces him to jump and shout but chose not to do so out of shame. He cannot help but smile from ear to ear. Was it because he would be able to spend more time with her? That's part of it. But there was more. He didn't want to spoil things right now. He seized thinking and for the time being he wanted to be surprised and stop calculating everything.

He waited patiently outside. Shikamaru began to sweat as everything around him slowed in motion. He could see the stairs, her foot coming into vision and bit by bit the world is fast forwarding.

Someone tapped him in the shoulders. He finally woke up from his trance.

"Shikamaru?" Temari asked

He scratched his head automatically "Let's go"

oOoOoO

They continued to walk, With her a step behind. She noticed something, a necklace, gold. Temari smiled genuinely for years. Everything seemed to be complete. She never felt this way before. Ever since she brought forth Shiki. This time, she allowed herself to walk side by side with him.

His heart calmed down. "Where can we talk privately?"

"your choice" She replied nonchalantly

"my apartment?"

"how about her?"

"don't worry, nobody knows about this, even my parents, not even Chouji-" he cut himself off as he remember the only person who knows about his secret apartment. He continued disgustedly "Except him"

_Him?_Temari thought interested. But since she doesn't want to butt in anymore, she set him aside for a while.

They spoke of trivial things after the 'him' topic. About Suna, which he already knows seeing his job was still to escort any representative which came from Sunagakure. He asked when they would next meet, but she hesitates. That would mean walking around the town with him, meeting everyone again, rumors following the next day, that Shikamaru, a married man is dating the former liaison of Sunagakure, it would ruin both of their reputation, and that would also mean that the news would get to Ino. No one wants that.

She refused and said no shortly. Seeing that she badly wanted to say yes amidst the consequences he insisted, using a few stupid arguments which ended up for her to give in and say yes, because that was what she wanted to since the beginning.

"who's him?" Temari asked still completely curious

"him? I don't know if he would be classified as a friend or foe?" He said grimacing. Shikamaru shook his head, annoyed "never mind"

oOoOoO

The door creaked open and inside revealed a very plain looking room. It smelled abandoned having only a single sized bed and a lamp beside it. In the corner near the window was a center table equipped with a fine piece of furniture (for the sake of having one), a shougi board made of glass.

"I didn't know you fancy glassy ones" Temari said with a goofy grin

Shikamaru rolled his eyes "You know me too well. I don't waste my precious time just to buy a girlish board"

"so who is it from?"

"you don't wanna know" he said looking back at her having closing the door. "Ino" he confessed seeing the still curiosity.

Temari suppressed the urge to frown and surreptitiously squeezed a small amount of clothing on her side. "so why bother displaying it?"

"dunno. instinct Probably. Mind to play?"

"I don't"

oOoOoOoO

A few minutes had passed and not a single word was said. Only the occasional grunts and hmms.. and the clash of glass against glass could be heard. Temari, who apparently was slowly losing her pieces was sweating more than needed.

It wasn't long after her king was trapped.

"It's checkmate" Shikamaru stated, back falling flat against the floor, arms at the back of his head.

"as always" Temari, disappointed as she was, cannot help but feel nostalgic. She stood adjusting the up heaved garment and dusting the invisible dust.

"leaving so soon?"

She nodded "I need to"

"why?" he said "I thought you wanted to talk?"

"We can do that tomorrow"

"no"

"then tell me why not"

"you might leave"

Temari frowned at the accusation "I'm not like that Shikamaru. You should have known that"

"I'm just stating the possibility"

She rolled her eyes as she prepared to leave "I should be saying goodbye now"

"wait" Shikamaru hearing the word goodbye took the indication that she was really leaving despite his early protests. He stood up without even bothering to straighten out his vest and fixing his untangled hair and went straightforward to Temari.

And Without even thinking,

He grabbed her waist and placed his other hand at the back of her head, he tilted his head kissing her out of nowhere but his instinct

Temari, who was at that moment too shock to even move, was brought into a standstill. Although it was still a move out of pure instinct for the genius, he cannot help but realize what he had just done and is too shocked to even break the kiss or continue. He just happened to find out a moment later that an arm was wrapped around his neck and the other was caressing his face.

For some reason, he felt like stopping as the arms wrapped around him earlier departed to his chest, as her fists clenched squeezing an amount of his vest. Then he felt something wet rolled down his cheek.

He opened his eyes and quickly broke the kiss as the woman adjacent to him was trembling and was sort of like, sobbing.

"T-Temari" he backed away "I-didn't m-mean to- I-it was- I'm SORRY! I wasn't thinking!"

Temari disappeared into a poof of smoke leaving him in his apartment all alone as Feeling of regression and Longing poured all over him. He cursed himself. He shouldn't have done that!

He sat at the edge of his bed, raking his fingers in his hair.

Maybe 'he' was right.

Shortly, Shikamaru drifted off to sleep as he continued to muse about his conversation with him 3 years ago at the stag party.

_oOoOoOoO_

_The day before the wedding was the stag party. Everyone was invited, rookie nine__ and team gai of course. There was just one person who didn't come and ignored the party, insisting on taking a mission while __everyone__ of his friends __are__ enjoying and partying. Akimichi Chouji_

_Sitting in the windowsill__ outside the room__, all gloomy and blue with his lips turned upside so to pretend smiling whilst his eyes said otherwise. A long haired person came over him joining him in his place__. He stood across Shikamaru holding a glass of water. Shikamaru shook him a questioning look when there are so many __whisky__ inside and he was holding a ridiculous glass of water?_

_The new companion smirked, sensing his distaste, with the liquid he was holding. The genius asked him why he was there and his smirk grew wider. __So annoying._

_"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" He countered proudly_

_He ignored him and continued staring into space. Shikamaru noticed him sipped a bit as the ice clank with each other with the frequent__ stirring of his hand. God he was treating it like some wine._

_His face became blank, he can't read it. A swift air passed between them stirring both their hair and shirts into motion. I wonder why he kept tying it like that. I mean __it's__ useless binding it at the very ends. He could have tied it like mine. __Properly and neatly._

_"So that my hair would be a pineapple like yours?"__ He said all of __a sudden__ sensing everything that passed through Shikamaru's his mind. _

_Shikamaru jolted from that remark. He never remembered saying anything or even making a face in front of __his oh__-so-gorgeous-and-looks-like-a-lady's hair. He laughed_

_"It's enough __having__ 2 pineapples in this village. I don't to be added to that list__"_

_That was the first time HE laughed that day. And it was also the first time He ever had a productive conversation with Hyuuga Neji._

_A moment later, he asked "Why her all of a sudden?"_

_The subject made Shikamaru frown, he knew what he means but chose to be innocent. "I don't know what you mean"_

_This is Hyuuga Neji were talking about. This isn't Chouji whom I could really trust. But knowing him, he's quiet, much like Shino, except he doesn't sulk anytime._

_Neji sipped again, this time finishing his glass "You know what I'm talking about Nara, don't act dumb, you're the only person smarter than me"_

_He scowled at the comment__, ignoring him and didn't say anything._

_"__you're__ so lucky to have 2 women wooing over you" Neji looked at him form head to toe, as if criticizing him. "You're not even close to the likes of Uchiha which we both knew Ino and Temari's former thing"_

_Is this man saying that I'm __ugly_

_"You're not even close to me" Neji earned a disgusted look form Shikamaru. He thought he was finished but he didn't plan on being quiet at that moment. __" You're__ lucky to have Sabaku no Temari all by yourself" He placed the glass down the nearby table and crossed his arms. __" To__ tell you honestly, Temari's my type, strong and intelligent and exceptionally beautiful, not to mention she's the sister of the kazekage. I don't think a man could ever ask for more"_

I didn't know If I was to believe the words I actually heard that time. I didn't know if I wanted to sulk more or laugh my ass off by that unbelievable words. But in the end, I realized what he was saying. And I ended up busting out words which are not meant for other's ears

_"You can have her now. She's not mine anymore"_

_"Don't let your mind speak for yourself" Neji looked at him and raised an aghast brow "__WOudn't__ that __be__ nasty? Sharing a woman with the likes of you?" "I doubt you'd be faith __ful__ with Ino" he smirked again_

_"Tenten?"_

_I said without thinking. __Maybe to make him off guard.__ I was never so irritated in my life and I never imagined __that the__ person that would make that possible would be Hyuuga Neji. _

_He frowned, I made him frown! I wanted to jump that time. Bu__t__ then I didn't notice him already strapping back his __nin__sandals. He's going home. That was good._

_"She's just a friend. Tenten is my former teammate and that would be that. We both know that"_

_HE stood up preparing to leave __" I__ should be going Nara. May you have a very dire nightmare tonight! See you if ever you're still alive tomorrow"_

Unfortunately for him, I'm still alive safe and sound. I didn't know Hyuuga Neji could be talkative at times.

oOoOoOoO

Temari's breathing became heavy as she arrived at the front door of their room. Opening it, she noticed that Shiki was standing right in front of her. The obvious resemblance of them are killing her and made her dropped to the floor and cry.

"mom what's wrong?" The little boy asked sadly, also wanting to cry, seeing his mom was never been this sad before.

Temari quickly seized the boy in front of him and embraced him tightly. "I love you baby" She muttered between sobs.

"We're leaving tomorrow"


	11. TRUTH part 1

**I'm back!**

First, Sorry for the almost half a year late update, actually I almost felt like ditching this fic. Second, thanks for everyone that reviewed especially FYREQUEEN, if not for her; you might not see this fic updated right in front of you.

**NOTE:**

When I read chapter 7 of FOOP( I didn't realize that my fic has a nasty acronym), I realize that I've made a lot of mistake about Shiki's age. Just to confirm things, **SHIKI IS 3 YEARS OLD** not 4 not 2. Sorry If that had you confused.

* * *

--

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--

-

--

Shizune stood up approaching the window behind the hokage's desk "Tsunade-sama.."

"hn.." the hokage inclined her head, shifting her gaze to her worried assistant

"I think a storm's coming"

"really?" she smirked "that's good"

"why is that? I don't remember anything good coming out from a storm?"

Tsunade sighed and straightened "that means Temari can't get away from this village.. not in 3 days or so" she said as-a-matter-of-factly. "She just dropped by here a moment ago and said they'd be going back to suna tomorrow" The Hokage chuckled

"then what's funny?" Shizune asked a bit disturbed by the older woman's antics

"just watch"

Shizune sighed and walked away "This isn't going to be a nice week"

Dark clouds started to appear and thunders are heard a few hours later. Trainings have been cancelled, shops and restaurants shut and the village gate was ordered to be closed so to prevent any accidents as everyone in the village started to prepare for the upcoming storm.

"what the-?" Temari, having heard the sound of thunder rushed to the window and raised the curtain. She scowled and gritted her teeth "bad timing" Quickly, she picked her coat up and dashed to the door. "stay here shiki! pack everything up were gonna leave today"

"but there's a st-" Temari shut the door "storm coming"

* * *

-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-

A series of knocks could be heard behind the office's door as the Hokage had a smirk plastered in her face "come in"

" Hokage-sama, excuse me but I changed my mind from what I said earlier and I'm planning to go-"

"NO" The smirk widened "aren't you a bit hasty? Don't you think your endangering your life as well as your son's with what you're doing?"

"I-"Temari frowned "I'm just protecting my son"

"protecting? And that's what you call protecting? Rushing in on the storm with an innocent child in tow?" Tsunade asked sounding amused. "You're not protecting your child you're just scared of losing your pride"

Temari fell silent and fisted. She turned back around walking back to the door, doubting there would be no use talking to the woman. Turning the doorknob, she was stopped again by the hokage.

"Why don't you tell him already? It's not like he's gonna take the boy with him. Shikamaru's not like that"

"You don't understand" Temari countered blankly

Tsunade paused and looked at her intently. " I don't understand huh?" she sighed " '_You ain't a fucking mother that's why there's no use talking'_ is that what you wanna say?"

Temari as if hearing nothing had opened the door ready to go out but was stopped again.

"one more thing kid" Tsunade leaned resting her palm on her chin "tell me, do you understand what it's like to piece parts of body back together? With a pleading mother beside shouting '_Please save my son_!' and 'I _shouldn't have gone out into that storm!_'. I tell you; even great shinobis can't withstand a storm head on. If you don't believe me see for yourself."

The door was shut quietly than what Tsunade expected to be louder.

"At least she doesn't have the guts to sacrifice her son just to preserve her pride, right…." she smiled coyly and turned her head to the place where the strong disgusting scent of strawberry is coming from "sakura"

"eeekkk!" Sakura squeaked as she jolted in surprise, covering her mouth in the process. "but I've concealed my chakra perfectly…" she asked sounding disappointed "KAI!"

"I've been holding my breath since you entered my office" The dizzied woman pinched her nose. "Your concealment was perfect if not for that nasty cologne"

"Oh?" Sakura rubbed the back of her head, turning red in embarrassment.

"What are you doing in here, anyway?"

Sakura stiffened "I- I was-.."

* * *

"Eavesdropping's not a good thing." She murmured "You didn't have to hide, it's not like it was private"

"Well I don't know, I'm just- I just don't feel comfy around Temari-san's presence, that's all. Especially when she's.. like that"

Tsunade's eyes widened "Don't tell me… You're…"

"I'm a what?"

"A lesbian"

There was silence for a few seconds.

"AW HELL NO!!" Sakura burst completely frustrated and panting heavily.

"I just don't understand that girl, it's not like Shikamaru's gonna take the boy with him and leave her damned" Tsunade turned serious suddenly "Though I understand" she said letting out a breath and shifted her weight into the chair "Laws are laws, she might lose the custody of her son"

Sakura nodded and thought for a while. "But it's just one of the common accidental pregnancies. Males doesn't have the right with the child, if that's the case right?" As if on cue she affirmed "they're not married Tsunade-sama"

"They are" Tsunade said blankly

"SAY WHAT?!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes "I don't want to repeat myself" She went on "I have the documents"

Sakura paled, as every fiber of her being was shocked.

"Shikamaru asked for it, a week before his marriage to Ino. As we all know, engagements doesn't have formal contracts, that's why he wasn't committing any crime. You could just say it's unmanly of him. But unmanliness can't get you jailed."

"Hey I thought you don't know anything, and you also said it was a problem! And,- and what about his marriage to Ino?" Sakura demanded

Tsunade smirked.

"Don't tell me" Sakura's eyes widened. Horrified and perturbed by everything she just heard

"That's right. It was fake"

* * *

Temari stomped her feet heavily making her way out of the hokage building. As the young chuunin opened the door, there was already a drizzle accompanied by strong winds that slapped her face in a not-so-gently manner.

Muddy as it is, she cannot do anything but step on it. Brown grime splatted around her bare leg and sandals as she made her first step out.

"Troublesome mud" she muttered and smiled weakly at the said word

Upon reaching the inn, she noticed a very frustrated woman drenched in rain water with a bulky brown bag beside her that matches her hair. She was shivering and her skin is pale. The receptionist was smiling halfheartedly, muttering something between the lines of "I'm sorry" and "It's full". By the looks of things she doesn't have a place to go. She felt sorry for the woman.

She went nearer to the woman as she was about to draw near to the stairs.

"I'm really sorry miss, but there's not a single room unoccupied at the moment." Temari heard the receptionist apologize

"It's ok" That's when the pale woman turned around and a full coverage of her face met her eyes

"Hey that's!" Temari said, "Tenten!"

Tenten turned back around, facing the individual who called her name. "T-Temari?"

Temari quickly approached the soaked Tenten and pulled her hand motioning for her to follow "It's been a while" Temari stated

Tenten smiled "I owe you one"

* * *

Temari ceased walking amidst the hallway as she remembered something very important. Something along the lines of secrecy and confidentiality. Something about a boy who has to be kept from the prying eyes of people. Something about the son of hers who is alone in the room waiting for her arrival and would soon be discovered by none other than Tenten. Lucky for her, Tenten isn't a bitchy gossip girl.

Tenten, who seem to notice the slight change around Temari's mood asked "what's wrong?"

Temari suddenly turned to face her, hands on the both sides of her shoulders. "Can you promise me something?" Temari asked or more like pleaded.

"O-of course" Tenten hesitated "why the sudden chang-"

Temari cut her off "DON'T ever shout or do anything that would attract audience when you enter my room" She commanded emphasizing the word 'Don't'

Tenten nodded sweating

"Second, anything that you'll see must not leave my house, my room rather" Temari corrected herself

"Ok…" she said letting out a heave of breath "Like I'd do something like that"

...

"Don't faint" Temari added

* * *

Hearing the footsteps that were nearing the room, Shiki sat up from the bed groggily, grabbing a book beside the nightstand and flipping out a few pages simulating a diligent and curious young boy. That was a routine when he's sensing that his mother is coming back.

The reason?

To avoid being yelled for being a lazyass. Trying to read books which doesn't even interest him in a bit.

'The three Little Pigs' he read quietly "Those pigs are stupid…I hate it" he muttered disgustedly

The footsteps ceased and the knob creaked. She's back. The monster of her mom was back.

"I'm back"

* * *

Temari twisted the door knob, shedding light outside the hall. "I'm back" she greeted. "Come in Tenten"

The boy didn't flinch. He was still READING the 'stupid' book, as he said.

"yeah" Tenten smiled gratefully, entering the bright room. Studying her surroundings, from the kitchen, the couch and finally to the bed, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her mouth agape, eyes soon to disconnect from her nerves, and her body shivering and sweating.

She could not believe her eyes. Or rather, she doesn't want to believe her eyes

"As expected" Temari sighed. "Come on Tenten, meet my son"

"Y-Your s-s-sson?" Tenten pointed to the reading boy "B-But that's Shi-SHhhikamarru, rri-right?"

"Shut up, that's not possible" Temari corrected "He's our son, idiot"

"I really like to faint"

* * *

"peek-a-boo" Tenten, after the half-hour shock, surprised the boy as she revealed her covered face.

Shiki raised a brow weakly "what was that, Ms. Buns?"

Tenten, although slightly dumbfounded with the strange boy beamed. "why little guy? Don't you like peek-a-boo?"

Shiki didn't respond, only giving Tenten a bored look.

"where are your toys? Let's play with them!" Tenten cheered when he didn't reply. She sighed "Hey Temari!" Tenten called from the couch

"yeah?"

"Your son's weird, 2 years olds usually cry in joy when someone wants to play with them"

"I'm 3 not 2" Shiki corrected

"a year doesn't make a huge difference" Tenten turned facing the direction where Temari is seated

"and look, it's amazing for a 3 year old to speak this clear"

"Well what do you expect to be the son of a very lazy man?"

"Shikako is a die-hard fan of toys and games, she's 2, close to your age"

"Shikako?" Temari asked ringing a bell

"Ino's daughter" Tenten said blankly

Though perfectly covered with a slight smile, Tenten saw the frown that formed through her lips "So they have a dau-

Sensing the slight discomfort of Temari, she cut her off "No, it isn't his. Don't be worried"

"Hey I'm not worried. Like I care" Temari snapped, unable to maintain the calm façade she wore minutes ago.Truth be told, she was relieved

"You're just relieved, aren't you?" Tenten smiled " Shikako's a redhead, Neither Ino nor Shikamaru is a redhead. One more trait, the kid's fat, not chubby but fat" Tenten said making her guess "So who do you think it is?"

Temari's eyes widened "But that's just…"

"I know what you're thinkin', unbelievable right, like what I felt a moment ago when you showed me this boy" Tenten pointed her finger to Shiki. "So many things have changed these past 3 years. I was surprised when I heard the news; there's a new ambassador"

"Well I was pregnant back then" Temari mused "It was funny when Gaara sent Kankurou. He said he can't deal with Konoha, and he might broke the treaty because he'd beat the crap out of Shikamaru if he'd see him"

Tenten laughed, reminiscing about everything that happened in the past "Don't you know that both of them were whipped by the hokage? I mean literally."

"Hey I didn't know that!" Temari said, sounding somewhat shocked and mirthful. "Come to think of it, I remembered that bastard coming home with lots bruises and a bandage in the head! That jerk! He lied saying it was rouge-nins"

"They were beating each other scarcely that they didn't notice Tsunade-sama walking towards them, whip in hand." Tenten guffawed holding her belly unconsciously.

They fell silent for a moment

"Tenten, why do you know so much about Shikamaru? And…and about everything… about us"

Tenten smiled "Well you see, since I quitted anbu, I decided to become a teacher. It's a lot less dangerous than anbu missions and that's when we became friends. Truth is, I nonetheless became a replacement for Chouji,"

"You really quit anbu huh? Now that's not like you" Temari grimaced

"I had to. Even if it has caused me a lot of effort. Tsunade-sama didn't approve of it at first, but I just can't take no for an answer. He must be very happy, now I'm gone"

"He? Who is 'He'?" Temari asked curious.

"Nah, forget I said anything" Tenten shoved her off

"Oh come on, it's not like I'll tell someone" Temari insisted

Tenten scoffed "Well who else could it be? That arrogant gay-ass pissbutt!"

"Well what did Neji did?"

Temari grinned.

"Don't ask. I hate saying his name" she scowled "He's never serious! I hate him, I despise that freak!"

"Hey he's not a freak.."

"For me he is…"she glared

Temari smirked "Trust me, he's regretting it now,"

"You wish" Tenten just sighed turning her attention to the boy sitting beside her. "Does he know anything about his son?" She said changing the topic

"Like I'd tell him"

"Why don't you let them see each other, anyway?" Tenten crossed her legs staring at Shiki. He really looks like his father. It's without a doubt, Shikamaru's

Temari frowned "rules are rules"

"You're right, custody matters" Tenten said understandingly "But, Shikamaru's not that type of guy. You know, he really loves you, even though odds are against the both of you together"

"W-we just met each other this morning" Temari told the younger woman. "Guess what happene-"

"You made out again?!" Tenten accused

Temari just looked bored "I'm so lucky, I had so much self-restraint, He's already married and I don't want another Shiki without a husband"

"So you want another Shiki if there is a husband," Tenten corrected

"I never said that" She countered

* * *

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura bawled "What's the meaning of this?!"

"calm down"

"I-I just can't believe you!" Sakura, red from anger and hatred yelled "Why did you fake it?!" She accused

Tsunade raised an eyebrow "me? Fake it? Hey that was not my choice! I just approved a request. A decent request"

Sakura's eyes were watery. Sure Shikamaru is her friend, but to go that far to hurt Ino. She could not take it. Someone has to take action

"Then why?! Why did you approve Shikamaru's request?! You can't do that! It's Forgery! That's against the rul-"

"WOULD THAT MOUTH OF YOURS SHUT UP?!" The hokage yelled. Sakura was sobbing. Ino's her bestfriend, Amidst every conflict they went through just to prove each other's worth. Even in Love they clashed. "Would you calm down a bit. It wasn't Shikamaru who reque-"

Tsunade paused. A swift air passed through. She was now talking to no one "That pinky bitch! She doesn't understand a thing! Uggghh"

* * *

Raging down the muddy street was a woman in pink and red attire. Fist enclosed and chakra dwelling inside.

"SHIKAMARU?! SHOW ME YOURSELF!"

* * *

I never thought it would turn out Sakura angry at Shikamaru for making a fool of ino. It's not like he fooled her, hahahaha.

There are 60 people on my Alerts List. If only a miracle would happen and those 60 people would review, Kris Hawkeye would be the happiest person in the universe.

**GIVE ME A MIRACLE!**

Thanks for reading…..


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